


The Boy Who Lived (the Night)

by Egle0702



Category: 2PM (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Adventure, Alternative Universe - Joseon, Alternative Universe - The Wizarding World, Animagus Jung Hoseok, Auror Kim Seokjin, Auror-in-Training Jeon Jungkook, Family, Gen, Herbologist Kim Namjoon, Jinx Master Lee Junho, Magic, Magical Creatures, Magizoologist Hwang Chansung, Minister Kim Minjun, Muggle Kim Taehyung, Potions Master Min Yoongi, Quest, Rich Pureblood Park Jimin, Scholar Patron Ok Taecyeon, Shenanigans, Squib Jang Wooyoung, Taehyung is a Good Boy, Voice of Reason Nichkhun Horvejkul, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:22:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27307684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Egle0702/pseuds/Egle0702
Summary: Taehyung only went to see his village's local shaman because he wanted to make his grandma happy.His entire world turns upside down when the shaman's friends abruptly crash their session.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Act 1: Boy Meets Shaman

It was too quiet. The sun was already down, but the forest wasn’t supposed to be this quiet. An eerie silence hung suspended over tall trees, occasional whispers whirling across branches along with a light breeze.

Taehyung set his foot on an old stone that led him up a narrow path, a lantern raised high above his head. He looked around nervously, his big eyes wide with fear of the unknown, but he stepped up and continued his trek up the mountain. The rod of his lantern clutched tight in his right hand, his left fidgeting with the thick braid slung over his shoulder, he was determined to reach his destination before the rat hour.

He almost slipped on the narrow and rocky path, and his bag of coins jangled in complaint tied at his waist. Taehyung huffed a sigh, checking whether the bag was intact, fixed his lantern, and carried on.

He wondered why the shaman had to live so far up in the mountain. There was lots of space next to their village, they could’ve just settled down in the outskirts, and everyone would’ve been spared the harrowing hike that one should NEVER take at night. So, when his grandma had kicked him out earlier this evening and told him to the make the journey or else, Taehyung had been lost for words.

But he also dearly loved his grandma and he would’ve done anything she told him, even if he didn’t agree with her methods. Hence, he was now huffing and puffing, trying to reach the shaman hut situated on a mountain next to their village.

An owl hooted somewhere above and Taehyung hunched without meaning to, looking around and gripping the rod tighter. The lantern glowed in a dim yet warm light, which didn’t do much to help with the visibility. Yet its warm glow offered comfort of something familiar in the otherwise uncanny environment.

After a few steps on rough stones, Taehyung rounded a corner and got hit in the face with a strong gust of wind that rattled his lantern.

“Oh?” he uttered surprised, staring at the dim light in a violently shaking casket, horrified to see the light dwindle until it died out.

The glow was gone, and the wind enveloped him from behind as if taunting and laughing at him. A sliver of light fell on his path through the trees, with the full moon up in the sky, and Taehyung gulped, determined to make it to the end.

One step at a time, careful where he places his foot, he continued up, convinced that he was close. There was something in the air, like he could swear the scent around him has changed. The ever-present scent of damp ground and pines was slowly being replaced by something warm and woodsy, like small tendrils of incense smoke slithering inside his head and slowly squeezing his mind.

He stopped at another steep climb and carefully mapped the path in his mind, noticing the sharp stone edges drowned in a soft moonlight. One step at a time, he hauled himself up the rocky path, following the intensifying scent until he emerged into a clearing right next to a treacherous precipice.

The wind danced around the precipice, urging anyone to come closer so that they could tumble down without any remorse. Taehyung shivered and looked left instead, where a small house nestled against a climbing slope, towered by tall pine trees from behind.

Rogue leaves whirled across the dark roof tiles, dancing in the moonlight, and for a second there, Taehyung forgot how to breathe. The woodsy smell filled his nostrils and tickled it with honey undertones, just as wind chimes tingled under the eaves of the house, illuminated by rectangular lanterns hung in between. They swayed gently in the wind, accompanied by dark blue, red, and yellow ribbons that looked almost magical in the mix of silver moonlight and the lantern glow. There were all sorts of markings on the house walls, mostly in red and black ink and paint, and Taehyung figured these were supposed to be the talismans that helped the shaman talk with the spirits.

The sweet scent still in his head, Taehyung squared his shoulders, pushed his braid back, and treaded carefully towards the house. It didn’t sound like anyone was inside, but the windows weren’t completely dark, so he decided to try his luck. Where else the shaman would be, anyway?

He stopped right at the steps that lead to the main door. There was a pair of dark boots on them. Taehyung glanced at his own pair of straw sandals. Perhaps he should’ve worn his ordinary shoes, but he didn’t want to ruin them during the climb.

Clearing his throat, he was going to announce his presence, but instead of asking for attention, his brain decided to trip on itself, and what came out was:

“Anyone home?”

His voice cracked at the end of the phrase. Taehyung cleared his throat, his cheeks burning. Wind chimes tingled above his head, as if chuckling at him. Clenched fist at his mouth, he coughed and stepped up in front of the door, forcing himself to knock instead. The knock echoed like a bang against an empty chest.

“Hello? Is there anyone home?” this time his voice was at the regular low, with proper inflections.

The wind chimes stopped moving and chiming abruptly, sending a chill down Taehyung’s spine. There was just a soft rustle of the lanterns left, and for a moment there, the boy wanted to turn on his heel and scram.

The warm and calming scent disappeared like someone had opened a window and its draft sucked it all out. Taehyung felt like the entire mountain with its dark scents and sounds was about to swoop onto him that very moment ready to devour his soul, when something clicked and the door to the house opened with a nasty creak.

Taehyung flinched, but watched dumbly as the small sliver of light from inside grew larger and larger, with every second of the nasty creaking from the abused hinges. He waited patiently until the door opened to the fullest, and his senses were once again assaulted by the pleasant scents and colours.

From his angle, Taehyung could see more colourful ribbons draped across the wall inside the house. There were low tables full of offerings to the spirits and ancestors, fruit stacked in towers of impossible shapes, and multiple candles, slowly burning and flickering across the room. It looked like some of those candles were floating, but Taehyung blamed the impression on tiredness and late time of the day.

“Good evening, young man.”

A head popped out of nowhere and greeted Taehyung in a polite manner, but he jumped with an “Argh!” and plopped down on his butt right where he stood. The coin bag at his waist jangled aggressively when he fell. Unable to catch his breath for a second due to the numbing pain in his backside, Taehyung eventually managed to focus back on the head above the threshold. The head belonged to a person.

The person wore dark blue trousers partially covered by his red vest with long flaps, all embroidered with pink and golden peonies. The same flowery pattern was on his sash that tied the vest and his shirt to his waist, a few decorative knots in blue, yellow, and bright green hanging pinned to it. His shirt sleeves were bright yellow and there were no accessories on his hands and wrists, as he propped himself against the doorframe.

Taehyung blinked when his eyes finally focused on the face that was previously drowned in shadows. It was a relatively young and round face. With thick eyebrows and mismatched foxy eyes, small but straight nose and thin lips. There was mirth dancing in those eyes as he considered Taehyung, the man’s long black hair tied up in a rather loose ponytail at the top of his head. His hair band was thick with a metal ornament to it, reminiscent of a three-legged bird. There were no piercings in the man’s ears, and that’s what finally ticked Taehyung off.

“You’re too young to be a shaman…” he blurted out before he could stop himself, and then he slapped his hand across his mouth horrified, staring up at the man with his eyes wide open.

The man considered him for another moment, his left eyebrow shooting up in an amused manner. He eyed Taehyung up and down until a mischievous smirk slowly crept into his lips.

“Well, since you’re already here, why don’t you come in and see it for yourself,” he gave Taehyung a final once-over and moved away from the doorstep, cackling quietly to himself.

🕸️🕸️🕸️

Taehyung sat on his knees inside the cabin, caressed by sweet and warm scents. He stared at the clean wood floor, feeling pleasant warmth seep through his clothes into his skin and bones. It must’ve been a small ondol although he hadn’t seen any stove outside before he came in.

There were two small gamasot cauldrons leisurely bubbling at the far end of the main floor. It didn’t look like the house had any more rooms, but there was bound to be another space behind the offering tables, candles, ribbons, and other gadgets he didn’t really want to know the names for.

The shaman sat in front of him, cross-legged on a small white pillow. Swaying sideways, he shook his rattle of bells. His eyes closed and face absolutely calm, he was trying to gauge Taehyung’s issue, the rhythmical bell jingling never missing a beat. Taehyung didn’t think this was how visiting a shaman was supposed to work, but he also has never visited one before, so he decided to just go with the flow, the wafting scents and the consistent jingling lulling him into a peculiar state of ease.

The jingling ceased and Taehyung looked up right when the shaman opened his eyes. He looked like an unamused fox, but Taehyung powered through his anxiety to maintain the eye contact.

The shaman carefully eyed him up and down again, his eyes lingering for a very short moment on the long braid slung over Taehyung’s shoulder, until he looked him in the eye again.

“You want to get married,” the shaman said in a manner that was definitely a statement and not a question.

Taehyung winced. His knees and thighs were beginning to ache. He untied the string that held the bag of coins tied to his waist, and pushed the grey bag across the floor towards the shaman.

“It is my grandmother’s greatest wish that I wed by the first snowfall,” he said politely with a deep bow.

“The village has a profound matchmaker,” the shaman pointed out eyeing the bag thoughtfully, and then focusing on Taehyung again.

“I…” he fidgeted with his fingers, avoiding the shaman’s eyes.

The village did indeed have a profound matchmaker, and they’ve been successful in marrying off half of the village young masters and young ladies (provided they haven’t been betrothed in advance). But there was always something off about the matches they offered to Taehyung. It was either the mismatch between the family expectations, his potential spouse’s extensions, his…

“Do you even want to get married?” the shaman asked picking up the bag of coins and staring Taehyung straight in the eye.

The question pulled him out of his thoughts so fast, he felt a little bit sick to his stomach. Colour drained from his face, and he gaped with his mouth slightly open, blinking owlishly. Maybe this shaman was the real deal.

Maybe there was something of Taehyung’s doing. He was the youngest child, and if he were to marry, his grandmother would be left all alone. He wouldn’t be able to raise a family in their little house. He would have to move, he would have to focus on growing crops, on building a house, on…

“I want to make my grandmother happy,” was what he chose to say instead in a subdued tone, as he couldn’t admit to this man here that he wanted to stay at his grandma’s side forever.

“Your filial piety tendencies are admirable, but…”

“Please, Mr Shaman,” Taehyung looked up with twinkling eyes, moving forward on his knees and snatching at the shaman’s hands without thinking. The coin bang dropped to the floor. “Please, if you convince the spirits to help me…”

The shaman hissed and tsked when he freed himself from Taehyung’s grasp, but he didn’t let go. His fingers rubbed comforting circles against Taehyung’s knuckles.

“They call me Wooyoung,” he said.

Taehyung blinked; his mind suddenly blank.

“Woo-- Wooyoung…” he stuttered, not sure about the honorific. “Nari?”

Wooyoung the shaman choked on his own spit and let go of Taehyung to clear his throat.

“Just “hyung” is fine,” he mumbled. “But if you’re not comfortable with that, call me whatever you want,” he looked up with a kind look on his face.

Taehyung blinked again. He suddenly realized he was kneeling way too close to the sha--- Wooyoung, but he didn’t know how to move away without looking extremely awkward. His cheeks flushed. Wooyoung considered him again for a moment, his lips pursed in a deep thought.

“I can give you something that might help you,” he said eventually and Taehyung let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. Wooyoung picked the coin bag from the ground and stood up, his bells jingling along. He turned to walk to the end of the room.

“Will you talk to my ancestors?” he suddenly perked up, feeling the weight lifting off his chest, his original bubbliness coming back to him.

Wooyoung halted in his step, as if mulling over Taehyung’s question, and then he turned his head left, meeting Taehyung’s eyes over his shoulder.

“No,” he said. “I think we will make people come to you instead.”

Wooyoung looked away and walked over to his bubbling cauldrons, pulling out a rod with a metal contraption at one end. He hooked it under one cauldron, picked it with ease, and then brought it back to his pillow, placing it on the floor right in front of Taehyung. The cauldron landed with a dull tap, seemingly so hot that the water was still bubbling even though it was no longer above the fire.

Steam climbed up from the pot in aggressive bursts, and Taehyung watched the bubbling concoction confused while Wooyoung gathered something from his offering tables and sat back in front of him. The cauldron was small, but Taehyung pulled back afraid of getting singed. It must’ve been extremely hot for the liquid to bubble this much.

Wooyoung placed three small faded-green porcelain jars next to his foot as he sat cross-legged. The jars were smaller than his fist and they looked dated. Very old. Taehyung wondered if he stored spices in them. Spices were expensive and hard to acquire.

The steam in the cauldron intensified when Wooyoung reached inside his shirt and pulled out a wad of talismans. He put the stack of yellowish faded paper full of random red markings next to the jars, and Taehyung’s heart stuttered.

“Are you going to give me a talisman?” he asked unable to hide the tones of hope in his voice.

Wooyoung stopped patting his talismans and his eyes found Taehyung’s again. The boy gulped.

“No,” Wooyoung said. He picked one jar, opened it, pinched the ingredients, and sprinkled something that looked terribly like rat tails into the bubbling concoction. “I’ll give you a draught.”

He put down the jar and picked another one.

“A draught?” Taehyung asked confused, watching him drop something else into the cauldron.

“Yes,” Wooyoung nodded. He then took one sheet of a talisman, rolled it into a narrow tube, and dipped it into the bubbling draught, stirring it several times. He used the paper like a ladle, Taehyung couldn’t understand how it didn’t melt. Must’ve been the shaman powers.

“Forcing it won’t do any good,” Wooyoung explained when the concoction turned light purple. “You need a force. A force that will pull people to you,” he pulled the paper tube out of the cauldron. Taehyung noticed that the markings on the paper had disappeared. “People who would be willing to accommodate you,” Wooyoung gripped the final jar and dumped the entirety of its contents into the cauldron. “And from there, it’s up to you.”

Taehyung frowned. That basically meant he would have to choose the match himself from whatever the group of people this “draught” pulls to him.

“Can’t you just ask the spirits for a match?” he asked. He didn’t want to go through the trouble of picking anyone.

Wooyoung rolled another talisman into a narrow tube and looked at Taehyung before stirring his concoction again.

“The spirits won’t help if you don’t have the will to go through it yourself,” he said.

Taehyung’s breath stuck in his throat. He slumped on his side, his numb legs finally giving way, and he winced when he tried to maintain his balance. Slowly massaging his thighs and tuning out the shaman working in front of him on the terrible draught that was now dark green, he fought back his frustration and tears.

He wanted to make his grandmother happy. He wanted to be a good grandson. He was willing to get married if that was what it took. But he didn’t want to go through the farce of it. He didn’t want to pretend he was interested in someone when he wasn’t. He didn’t want to choose, when his heart wasn’t in it. He couldn’t lie to another person and build life with them, when he just wanted to cross this one out of his to-do list.

It was easier when someone told you what to do. When the ancestors pointed out a match and said, this was your best bet. Then you had a reason. You didn’t have an excuse to back out. But if he had to put his own will to it, it just… wasn’t… there.

“Alright,” Wooyoung’s voice brought him back to here and now, right when the blood circulation in his legs was restored enough for him to sit cross-legged.

Taehyung looked up, his eyes slightly red, to see Wooyoung focused on him.

“I need your hair,” he said.

Taehyung’s eyes bugged.

“My what?” he breathed, feeling the air being punched out of his lungs.

“Your hair,” Wooyoung eyed his long and thick braid. “To tailor the draught just for you.”

Taehyung snatched at his braid and hugged it close to his heart, eyeing Wooyoung horrified. He couldn’t give his hair. This was the body bestowed upon him by his parents. He hasn’t cut his hair since… He couldn’t. Noticing the end of the braid hanging loose, Taehyung snatched at it, and tucked it safe under his lapels.

“Relax,” Wooyoung clicked his tongue seeing Taehyung’s state of distress. He pulled a small sheath from his robes with a knife inside. “Just a few strands. Or a few loose ends would do, too.”

Taehyung clenched his jaw, eyeing the small knife being pulled out of the sheath. There were strange markings on the knife, too. He couldn’t read them well over the constantly rising steam. How did that cauldron maintain its temperature?

Cutting off even a few stray strands still sounded terrible. And this draught wouldn’t give him the match anyway. This wasn’t what he had hoped for. The shaman had his own agenda, and Taehyung suddenly felt betrayed. He’s made this trek to the mountain in vain. By heavens… how was he going to go back down at this time? His lantern was…

“It is not my intention to dishonour your house,” Wooyoung’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts again. “And it will make your grandmother happy to see you happy,” he said sincerely.

Taehyung’s shoulders sagged. The shaman used the grandma card. That was a powerful move.

He eyed the bubbling concoction that now looked maroon. Maybe, if it really made his grandma happy, he could sacrifice a few strands. No one had to know. And it was for the greater good. No matter how hard his stomach churned at the thought.

Still holding his braid close to his chest, Taehyung sat on his knees again and slowly shuffled over towards the bubbling cauldron. Wooyoung smiled.

“That’s the spirit,” he commended. “Come closer,” he reached out, one hand palm up. “Hold the hair above the cauldron. Don’t worry, the steam won’t hurt you.”

Taehyung eyed Wooyoung suspiciously, but when he reached out to hold the end of his braid above the steaming pot, the steam barely tickled his skin. The tickle was also pleasant, but Taehyung suddenly wondered if this weren’t witchcraft. He didn’t want to sell his soul to evil spirits for the sake of marriage. He wasn’t up for that. But then again, the shaman had a good reputation, so maybe he was overthinking things.

His hands trembling as he held the end of his braid for the shaman, Taehyung shut his eyes tight, refusing to watch this. He sent a quick apology to his parents, feeling Wooyoung draw closer and separating a few strands from the end of his braid. He held his breath, hoping it would end by the time he counted to one, two…

_POP!_

A harsh cracking sound exploded behind him and Taehyung jumped out of his skin in a fright. He gasped, felt weightless for a heartbeat, and then landed painfully on his backside, knocking the back of his head against the floor, too. He frowned at the pain.

“Eh-hey! That was a close call!” he heard the shaman yell. “Almost cut the poor boy’s fingers off! How many times do I have to tell you: stop apparating inside my house!”

Wooyoung was throwing a fit, and Taehyung struggled to recollect his wits. He tried to breathe steady again, lying on the floor, when two sets of feet came into his periphery. One pair of feet was covered in black socks, the other – in white.

“Hyung-nim,” a soft voice said when the white socks moved. “We took off our shoes BEFORE we disapparated. We would never disgrace your house like that.”

Taehyung coughed when the white socks person with the voice that sounded like it was laced with silver moonlight walked out of his field of vision.

“Hyung-nim,” another voice said and the black socks moved too. “We brought you a new set of talismans, straight from Minjun daegam-nim,” this voice was huskier, but just as soft.

“Yes, well, your service is greatly appreciated, but you’ve just scarred this boy here for life.”

Taehyung felt their attention on himself before he could even see them. When he finally sat up, feeling slightly woozy, he saw two men flanking Wooyoung at his sides, their curious gazes set on him. Taehyung almost hiccoughed. He didn’t know if he was supposed to feel awed or intimidated.

The man on Wooyoung’s right was a tad taller than his companion. He had a sharp gaze and full lips, and his hair fell onto his forehead in a clean and even line, as if he regularly trimmed it. A small chunk of it was tied in a small ponytail at the back of his head, but most of it cascaded loosely down his back and shoulders, all the way down to his elbows. It contrasted heavily against his turquoise hanbok, complimented with a long lilac robe.

There was a purple fan and a dark green norigae pendant tied to the sash that held his hanbok across his midriff. It was partly obstructed by the white belt slung across his left shoulder, where Taehyung could see a sword handle peeking from behind. The man watched Taehyung with an undeniable mirth in his warm brown eyes.

Where the man on Wooyoung’s right was pastel soft, the man on Wooyoung’s right was black and rough. He looked genuinely amused as he eyed Taehyung up and down with his eyes so dark, they looked almost black. He had a big nose, thin lips, and a sharp jaw. All of his hair was pulled up and tied into a messy bun at the top of his head. There was a black binyeo pin sticking out of the bun, with an obsidian gem stone encrusted at its thicker end.

Taehyung frowned, noticing that the man’s hair was, in fact, relatively short, a few stray strands sticking out here and there, some even covering parts of his forehead. He wore a black soldier-type hanbok without a robe, with his sleeves tied tight around his wrists, a sword resting behind his shoulder, held by a black belt across his chest.

Both men had strong eyebrows, but neither wore a headband, and Taehyung didn’t know what to make of them when their hair was so unconventional. The man in black even had multiple piercings in his ears.

“He doesn’t look scarred,” the man in lilac said. “He looks mystified.”

“That’s a nice way of putting it,” Wooyoung grumbled and looked down at the bubbling cauldron. “Ah…” his shoulders hunched. “Well, at least I didn’t get his fingers,” he rubbed his face exhausted and Taehyung finally focused on the cauldron, where half of his braid had already melted into the brew.

His jaw fell open as he couldn’t stop staring. He traced his braid absent-mindedly with his fingertips. Or at least he tried to, feeling around the spot where it used to lie on his shoulder. But there was nothing there.

Taehyung snatched at the back of his neck, horrified to find a loose tuft of hair, now barely reaching his shoulders. His fingers playing with the fresh cut across his thick hair, he gaped at the cauldron that was slowly eating up his heirloom. The liquid was now dark purple. It no longer bubbled.

“Hyung-nim, is that the _dangi_ draught?” the man in lilac asked enthusiastically, eyeing the cauldron. “It looks like straight from the textbook,” he commended leaning in to get a closer look. His hair slivered across his shoulders in sleek cascades without a single knot.

“Amazing,” the man in black leaned in, too. “I can seldom get the purple right. You’re better at this than most of the people with actual magic.”

“It’s only as good as the original source,” Wooyoung mumbled thoughtfully when the cauldron finally swallowed the rest of Taehyung’s hair.

“Which is Minjun daegam-nim,” the man in lilac mused. “Hyung-nim, accept the credit where the credit is due.”

Something snapped and broke inside Taehyung.

“No,” he whispered. “No, no, no!” desperation lacing his voice, he crawled frantically to the cauldron, his eyes darting across the liquid surface, looking for any traces of his heirloom. “Bring it back,” he begged with an anguished lace across his voice.

“Don’t worry,” Wooyoung said, his brow knotted in a pensive frown. “It will still work, just maybe the pull will be…”

“No,” Taehyung shook his head, his breathing ragged and irregular. “Bring it back! Bring IT back!!” he begged. “I don’t need the draught, please, bring it back!!” he wailed distressed, rubbing his palms together, hoping his fervent sincerity will get through.

“I can’t bring it back…” Wooyoung gaped dumbfounded.

“Whoah, _mudungie_ , breathe…” the man in black took a step forward to seemingly calm him down.

Taehyung saw red.

“NO!” he exploded, jumping to his feet. He didn’t care if he were to insult these yangban or whoever they were. He swayed dangerously when blood circulation in his legs stuttered again.

“Wooyoung- _hyung_ ,” he emphasized the word pointing at the shaman. “You said it would take just a few strands!! You said it would make my grandma happy… THIS!!” he grabbed at his chopped shoulder-length hair. “Won’t make her happy!” he was yelling at the top of his lungs, his face turning red at a dangerous pace. “It will make our ancestors angry! And nari!” he pointed at the man in lilac, and then at the man in black. “You two interrupted Wooyoung-hyung! It’s your fault, too! So, bring it back!! Or I swear, my ancestors’ wrath will be enough to bring dishonour and de—demise to your houses!”

The mirth that had been flickering across the men’s faces disappeared at once. They looked stricken and slightly out of their element. Wooyoung’s forehead was marred with concerned lines as he regarded Taehyung carefully, the other two men meeting each other’s eyes and backtracking on their attitude.

“There, there,” the man in lilac uttered in his gentle tone. “Now, there’s no need to fling curses around.”

“Yeah,” the main in black seconded. “That’s not how they work anywa—oof,” he choked on his words when Wooyoung reached out and jabbed him in the ribs. “Point taken,” he wheezed doubling over.

“I’m very sorry, Taehyung,” Wooyoung said with a genuine regret in voice. “But I can’t bring your hair back.”

Taehyung bit his lip, trying to rein in his tears. He clenched his shaking hands into fists.

“Do you have the ingredients for _galgi_ potion?” the man in lilac asked suddenly. “I could make it.”

“I think I do…”

“What does it do?” Taehyung asked suspiciously over them because he was done trusting these people.

“It makes your hair grow,” the man in black grinned. He had lots of teeth. “Fast.”

“Yes, it will make your hair grow back,” Wooyoung nodded.

Taehyung felt nauseous.

“I don’t need it to grow fast,” he enunciated exasperated. “I need the old one BACK!”

The three men stared at him like he was some peculiar equation they had to solve. Soft and comforting scents still wafted around the house, bright tingling of the wind chimes reaching them from the outside, but the scents were beginning to suffocate Taehyung. And the chimes assaulted his ears like a big metal drum, little by little making dents and cracks on his world.

The man in black drew a sharp breath through his mouth and turned to the other two.

“Could that be possible?” he mused.

“It would have to work on him,” the man in lilac answered without missing a beat. “So, with a charm, no. With a potion, maybe.”

“Mandrake restorative draught?” Wooyoung suggested looking around and noticing stray strands from Taehyung’s lost braid still lying across the floor. He pulled out a tiny vial from his sleeve and began picking up every single strand carefully, pushing them into the vial.

“Its restorative power isn’t for missing limbs or body parts,” the man in lilac shrugged and Taehyung shivered at the ease he uttered that sentence.

“But if you take the restorative function and adjust it accordingly,” the man in black suggested, watching Wooyoung pick the remnants of Taehyung’s hair off the floor. “And add in the original for the finishing touches…”

The man in lilac rested his chin against his hand as he thought.

“In theory…” he mused. “With the right equipment, ingredients, and the accurate amount of magic… it could work.”

“Can you brew it?” Wooyoung asked.

The man in lilac snorted.

“Do I look like Yoongi?”

Wooyoung and the man in black blinked simultaneously. The main in lilac seemed to have registered his slip of a tongue.

“Ah…”

“Yoongi!” Wooyoung exclaimed, plugging the vial and jumping to his feet. “You need to take this to Yoongi and ask him to fix this. He owes me a favour anyway.”

The man in lilac weighed down his head in defeat, opening his hand palm up, accepting his fate.

“We probably need to take him to Yoongi-hyung, too,” the man in black pointed out. “Just in case.”

“That would probably be for the best,” Wooyoung nodded and looked encouragingly at Taehyung. “We will probably solve this by sunrise,” he gave him an encouraging smile.

Taehyung felt his heart leap in a faint hope. Although he was also terribly confused and slightly spooked because he had no idea what these men were talking about it. Were they also shamans? Did they speak with spirits? Did their ancestors give them powers to make other people’s hair grow? Who was Yoongi? Scratch that, who were they?

“How’s your stomach, kid?” he heard the man in lilac speak and realized it was directed at him. “Do you barf easy?” he asked gripping the vial that Wooyoung had placed in his hand.

“Huh?” Taehyung gaped.

“Barf…” the man in black mumbled and then gasped appalled. “Barf?!” he pointed accusingly at the man in lilac. “We can’t apparate with a _mudungie_! Especially, if he’s not related! That’s traumatizing and against the code! You should know that, you’re a council member, _officer Kim_!!” his voice reached almost boyish heights, syllables permeated with a hurried lisp.

“Then how do you suggest we take him to Yoongi?” the man in lilac pinched his fingers in between his eyebrows. “ _Walk_ all the way to Hamgyong?!”

“Don’t insult walking, hyung! And there are sure ways to…”

Taehyung tuned out when Wooyoung left the two men to bicker and stepped in front of the still dazed Taehyung, giving his forearms a grounding grip.

“Taehyung,” he said looking the boy straight in the eye. “Listen to me closely, are you with me?” Wooyoung shook him slightly.

Taehyung nodded, closing his mouth and focusing on Wooyoung.

“I’m sorry it’s come to this, and I’m sorry that I have no powers to help you, but they do,” he spoke fast, referring to the wildly gesticulating pair behind them. “I would trust them with my life, and they might seem weird and spooky, but they will do their best to help you.”

“But you have the power, you’re our shaman,” Taehyung, even at the end of his wits, felt the need to comfort the older man in front of him when he sounded so dejected about his lack of said powers.

Wooyoung gave him a half-hearted smile, hesitating about something, and then he patted Taehyung on the head.

“You’re a good kid,” he said. “I’ll tell you when you’re back. Your purple draught will be ready, too. Just keep your mind open and go with the flow, alright? And don’t hesitate to scold them once in a while,” he grinned.

He patted Taehyung’s shoulders and turned back to the bickering pair.

“<…> o-ho, and when did the great wizard Jungkook have the time to learn this charm when he’s barely out of nappies?!” the man in lilac wiggled like a distressed caterpillar, his voice reaching the oddest inflections, as he tried to dodge the other man’s grip.

“Maybe when officer Seokjin was too busy keeping his hair pretty!” the man in black scoffed and stuck his tongue out at the elder.

“Hey, hey, hey, yah, yah, YAH!” Wooyoung’s voice rose a tone with every single syllable until the other two finally turned to him. “Give me my talismans, you knuckleheads, and take Taehyung to Yoongi. He needs his hair back.”

“Hi Taehyung, I’m Jungkook!” the man in black waved at him with a grin that showed a full set of teeth, and Taehyung realized that despite the wolfish first impression, he kind of looked like a bunny.

“That’s a hyung for you, brat,” Wooyoung slapped him at the back of his head, making Jungkook hiss. “My talismans,” Wooyoung demanded with his hand palm up.

“Yeh, hyung-nim,” Jungkook mumbled a quick apology, slipping a hand inside his shirt and pulling out a thick stack of talismans. “Minjun daegam-nim says _hi,_ ” he smiled softly.

“Tsk,” Wooyoung clicked his tongue, going through the talismans as if to check whether there was anything missing.

“Hi, Taehyung,” the man in lilac said kindly while Wooyoung was busy counting his goods. “I’m Seokjin. And I’m the hyung,” he winked.

Taehyung gave a slight bow, not exactly sure what to make of the dynamics unfolding in front of him. Wooyoung nodded, seemingly all of his talismans perfectly in place. Seokjin folded his arms across his chest, his robe stretching tight across his shoulders.

“So?” he threw a challenging look at Jungkook. “Problem child, how are you going to take our Taehyung here to Yoongi?”

Jungkook puffed a stray strand away from his forehead, unable to believe Seokjin’s audacity, and then turned to Taehyung.

The right corner of his mouth curled up in a smirk.

“Heh,” he huffed with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

🕸️🕸️🕸️

“We ride what?” Seokjin stared at Jungkook as if he’s just grown two heads.

“Our swords,” Jungkook grinned and took off the belt that lay diagonally across his chest.

He gripped his sword waving it at Seokjin’s face, and then, with a flick to his wrist, he tossed it carelessly into the air. The sword froze above their heads instead of falling down. It hovered suspended horizontally, as if held by some invisible force field.

Taehyung gaped at the scene in front of him. He was sitting on the steps in front of Wooyoung’s front door, trying to remain calm. It was getting late, and the wind chimes have gradually died down, leaving the main stage for the full moon and Wooyoung’s lanterns.

“Here,” Wooyoung offered him two small plugged bottles. “When you feel that tonight’s too much, open any of these and smell the oils inside. It will help.”

“Are they gifts from the spirits?” Taehyung asked. He gratefully took the bottles with a small bow and tucked them safely into the pocket inside one of his sleeves.

“No, they just smell nice,” Wooyoung shrugged.

Taehyung balked.

“I like it when things smell nice. It makes me feel good,” Wooyoung explained. “I hope it makes you feel good, too,” he gave a reassuring smile. “And don’t worry, you’ll be fine. When you’re with these two,” he looked ahead at the two men arguing in his front yard. “You’re safer than anywhere else in Joseon.”

Taehyung followed Wooyoung’s line of sight to see Seokjin roll his eyes and take his own sword off his shoulder, offering it to Jungkook. Jungkook gripped the hilt with his left hand, pressing the entire length of the sword to his right arm. He mumbled something and tossed Seokjin’s sword into the air just like he’d done with his own. The white sword stuttered and froze suspended a few paces away from the pair.

Jungkook grinned satisfied and turned to look at Taehyung.

“We’re ready to go! Come over here, hyung!”

Taehyung wondered how he’s gone from a seemingly empty space that could be ignored to a hyung in a span of several heartbeats. He got up slowly, his ruined hair swaying back and forth.

“Good luck,” Wooyoung got up along with him and patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll be waiting for your return.”

Taehyung gave a determined nod, squared his shoulders, and walked towards the pair with confidence. At this very moment, he wanted to be home on his warm ondol, with his head on his grandma’s lap, but they didn’t need to know it. He decided to fake it until he made it.

“You ride with Jungkook,” Seokjin said when Taehyung came closer. The elder patted his thigh and his white sword leisurely flowed across the air towards him, like an obedient cow. “This is not my favourite mode of transport,” he said puffing his fringe out of his eyes.

Taehyung gave a slight bow and turned to Jungkook, right when the man in black snapped his fingers, and his sword zoomed across the space towards him, stopping to a halt right next to Jungkook’s knees. Jungkook smiled fondly at it and then looked up to see Taehyung stand next to him.

Taehyung stared at the hovering sword half-intrigued, half-terrified.

“Is it… possessed?” he gulped.

“Charmed,” Jungkook offered with a smug smile.

He leaned down to unclasp the belt hook from the end of the sheath, leaving only one end fastened right next to the hilt. Gripping the loose end of the belt in his hand, Jungkook jumped onto the hovering sword with ease, wrapping the belt around his right hand and pulling it tight like a rein. The sword swayed lightly under his weight, but the man found his balance immediately, standing on the sword sideways, his feet shoulder-width apart.

“Hop on,” he offered his hand to Taehyung, looking at him expectantly.

Taehyung’s gaze followed the hand to the forearm and then shoulder, and then to his entire frame. With his sword’s belt gone, the lapels of his hanbok were wide open, and Taehyung gaped at the chiselled planes of the younger man’s chest, peeking behind the unruly garment. He looked like he could toss a bag of rice across the yard.

“Your uh…” Taehyung averted his eyes. “Your hanbok is loose.”

“Oh,” Jungkook looked down unperturbed, like this was a daily occurrence. Seokjin snickered in the background. “It’s okay, I like it breezy,” he then urged Taehyung to take his hand, and Taehyung gripped the slightly rough palm, clambering onto the narrow sword.

There was still enough space behind Jungkook, but he was beginning to question his life’s choices because he had no idea how he was to maintain his balance without toppling over once the sword moved.

“Hold onto me,” Jungkook said over his shoulder, taking a better grip of the belt. “And try to relax and let your body adjust to the flight. It’s easier that way.”

“Charm his feet to the sheath,” Seokjin suggested, slowly hovering over to them.

Taehyung looked left to see the other man leisurely hold one end of the white belt in his hand, as he easily maintained his balance on the narrow sword. His long hair flowed along with every turn and climb of the sword, falling in glossy cascades, almost as if every single hair had a life of its own.

“How do you even make your hair look like that?” Taehyung blurted out before he could stop himself.

Seokjin focused on him with an amused smile on his lips.

“Magic,” he winked and off he went, his white sword zooming up into the sky and away from the shaman’s hut, his hair and robe flapping after him like a fancy cape.

Taehyung’s stomach swooped in a nasty flip.

“Are you standing comfortably?” Jungkook asked.

“Huh? Yeah… I… I guess…” Taehyung mumbled.

“Alright,” Jungkook flicked his wrist and Taehyung felt his feet almost meld with the scabbard, keeping him in place. It was both spooky and reassuring. Just how far did the powers of these shamans go? Were they the enlightened ones who have reached the peaks of cultivation at a young age?

“Hyung, you have to hold onto me,” Jungkook reminded him.

“Oh, right…” he winced, apologetically wrapping his arms around the younger man’s midriff. “I’m sorry for imposing,” he mumbled, trying not to breathe directly into Jungkook’s neck.

“Don’t mention it,” he could hear mirth in Jungkook’s voice. “Ready?”

Taehyung nodded gingerly, and then remembered that he couldn’t see him.

“Yes.”

“ _Nareusha_ ,” Jungkook breathed, and Taehyung felt a sharp pull in his stomach at the sudden whiplash before he realized the sword took them up into the sky at a neck-breaking speed.

“BE BACK SAFE, KIM TAEHYUNG!!!” Wooyoung waved frantically at them from the ground. He quickly shrunk into a tiny pin in the middle of the forest. “I’LL BE WAITING!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!
> 
> This was supposed to be a Halloween one-shot.  
> Those who know me have probably just snorted at "one-shot."  
> I definitely would've completed this by Halloween if it weren't for the Autumn quarantine. Now I'm cooped at home again, and the workload has increased, so yeah...  
> I'm very close to completing the story, but I'll be posting it in chapters instead, to give myself some breathing space.  
> Also, forever thankful to [@skidadling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skidadling/) for constantly kicking my butt. Please continue doing so. 💖
> 
> It's also the first time in 4 years that I publicly share something new, so I'm both very excited and extra nervous.  
> There are terms in the story that aren't explained until later, or aren't explained at all. I plan to add a glossary when the work is complete, but the story is written in a way that those terms do not hinder your reading experience.
> 
> To all who stumble upon this story, enjoy! It's very self-indulgent, but I am having a lot of fun writing it.
> 
> Be safe! 🙏
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	2. Act 2: Boy Meets Potions Master

🕸️🕸️🕸️

Wind howled in his ears, the sides of his jacket flapping violently, when Taehyung finally dared to open his eyes. His arms and legs were numb, but he couldn’t move even if he wanted to. The sheer sight of mountains and forests zipping by so far below them was more than petrifying. Taehyung felt his throat go dry, Jungkook’s back suddenly a reassuring presence.

The skies have cleared as they soared up north along the coastline. Crashing waves, rocky shores, and thick forests surrounding them drowned in an ethereal silver moonlight. Perhaps Taehyung would’ve enjoyed the view if he hadn’t been so acutely aware that he was a very nasty fall away from the ground. It was also a lot chillier up high, and he vaguely wondered whether it was the cold or the fear that made his arms numb.

He peeked over Jungkook’s shoulder to see Seokjin leisurely riding his sword a little bit ahead of them. Taehyung thought he looked like those kids who wanted to slide down a hill standing atop of a long wooden plank in the coldest winter months. Except that those kids had snow to slide on, and they were now zipping through thin air!

Why was Wooyoung friends with such people.

Taehyung whined and closed his eyes again, telling himself for the hundredth time that this was about to end, and he wouldn’t stay up in the air forever.

“We’re close now!” Jungkook’s voice pierced through the roaring winds. “Just a little bit more!”

He jerked the belt in his hand, and the sword seemed to dash forward even faster. They gradually fell in line with Seokjin. The elder was eyeing the landscape ahead of them. The coastline was rocky, set with sharp rocks constantly washed by the waves. They crashed against the stone and then receded back to attack it again.

The coast was dotted with pebbles and boulders, and it looked rough and uninviting. Yet, the steep granite mountains, that seemed to be shooting up right next to the coastline, were all covered in lush trees. They steered left from the coast and headed straight into the forest. Instead of slowing down and navigating between the trees, they dashed ahead above the highest treetops, until a tall rocky peak dotted with pine trees came into view and they finally slowed down.

Taehyung opened his eyes again and frowned confused. They were slowly circling down, aiming for the mountain peak. But there was nothing there, just a few trees and granite rocks. For a terrifying moment, Taehyung thought they were going to leave him there on this mountain top to die.

Then Taehyung blinked, and the rugged scenery gave way to a house with a front and a back yard, its dark blue roof tiles so shiny the colour was unmistakable even in silver moonlight. Taehyung gasped. He just blinked! But it was like they passed a barrier that had been shielding the house from the rest of the world. Now they were clearly aiming to land in the front yard.

There were two chimneys at the back of the house, smoke puffing out of them both almost lazily. There was a soft glow in the windows, and Taehyung found the house very inviting, now that he was borderline freezing.

After circling above the house and the front yard for a few times, they finally slid to a soft halt just a foot above the ground. Taehyung felt his legs give out when he was no longer glued to the scabbard by the unknown force, and he unceremoniously flopped onto the ground.

“Aigo!” Jungkook gasped behind him.

Taehyung heard soft footsteps behind him, and then there was a hand under his armpit, gently but firmly pulling him back up to his feet. Still reeling from the fall and slightly ashen in his face, Taehyung saw that the hand belonged to Seokjin who was now smiling at him.

“Good job, you didn’t throw up,” with a light pat on his shoulder, Seokjin turned around and headed towards the house.

Taehyung hiccoughed.

“He’s right, you did well,” Jungkook praised him, picking up his sword.

A gust of a skin-cutting wind whirled around them and Taehyung shivered as his teeth clattered. Jungkook hunched his shoulders, mumbling softly to himself. He pulled his hanbok lapels tight around himself, finally covering himself in layers all the way up to his neck. He then slung the sword belt back across his shoulders and patted his chest a few times before looking up at Taehyung.

“It’s a bit chilly, isn’t it?” he smiled and reached out his right hand to brush against Taehyung’s shoulder. “ _Dot_ ,” he breathed softly before hurrying after Seokjin.

Taehyung blinked. From where Jungkook had touched him, soft tendrils of warmth gradually spread across his shoulder, down his arm, and all over to the farthest corners of his body. It was like he had heated stones inside and they were keeping him pleasantly warm.

It wasn’t too hot. It was just the right amount of warm, and Taehyung gingerly tapped at his chest trying to see if he weren’t burning. It didn’t feel any different though; it was more like it really came from the inside. The warmth brushed away all the knots in his muscles and the fear in his heart. Taehyung stood straight and confidently turned around, ready to make his case in front of this Yoongi person.

Seokjin was already on the heavy stone steps, about to knock on the door.

But the door opened right when he raised his hand.

“Yoongi-chi!” Seokjin didn’t sound fazed in the slightest. “You’re awake!”

“You’re lucky my barrier recognized you two,” a low voice drawled through the crack in the door, Seokjin’s wide frame blocking the person from Taehyung’s view.

“Good evening, hyung,” Jungkook greeted with a polite bow when he reached the front steps. A head with a long ponytail at the top popped up behind Seokjin’s shoulder.

“Evening, Kook-ah,” the head drawled in a good-natured fashion.

The head belonged to a very pale and round face with an odd balance of soft and sharp features. The eyes and eyebrows were sharp, but the mouth and nose were soft, adorned with slightly round cheeks, which made the person look like a disinterested cat. The eyes focused on Taehyung, who tagged behind Jungkook, and the person finally came fully into the view, moving away from the door.

“Who this?” he asked pointing his chin at Taehyung.

Yoongi (as Taehyung assumed) folded his arms across his chest, standing in a dark blue hanbok with a blue robe draped loosely across his shoulders, its white lapels a sharp contrast against the overall dark ensemble. Taehyung also noticed a dark blue norigae and a long wooden… spoon (?) hanging at his waist, tied to his sash.

“Ah, Yoongi-chi,” Seokjin perked up glancing back at Taehyung. “That’s why we’re here. That’s Taehyung and he needs your help.”

Yoongi gave Taehyung a thorough once-over.

“The boy looks like he’s gone to the hell and back,” he pointed out, and Taehyung frowned slightly. He sure felt dishevelled, but he’s been known for his good looks in his village. He couldn’t have looked that bad.

“Might as well,” Jungkook shrugged. “Wooyoung hyung-nim cut off his hair.”

“What?” Yoongi frowned confused.

“Come on,” Seokjin patted Yoongi on his shoulder, gently pushing him back inside and waving at Jungkook and Taehyung to follow them. “I’ll fill you in.”

The two older men disappeared inside the house as Taehyung followed Jungkook across the stone steps towards the entrance. Granite crunched under his feet, and then his heels hit the hard wood when he slowly entered the house after Jungkook.

It was warm and pleasant inside. There was very little light, but everything seemed to be illuminated with something invisible because you could easily see where every single casket, cauldron, bowl, and gadget that was lying around. Or not.

Taehyung gaped. The house was… alive. For the lack of a better word. Softly glowing lanterns hovered suspended in the air close to the ceiling, and bubbling cauldrons seemed to be stirring themselves. An entire galore of boxes and scales on a wide table right in the middle of the room looked like they were measuring and weighing ingredients themselves. Just as Taehyung was trying to make some sense of what he was seeing, a few knifes took off from the wall and lazily glided across the room towards the table, immediately getting down to cutting odd-shaped roots.

“<…> and that’s why we’re here,” Seokjin ended his tale, looking back at Taehyung again.

Taehyung found himself standing lost in the middle of the room, three pairs of eyes focused acutely onto him. Their expressions were hard to read, but he guessed they were half-expecting him to flee. What a thought. Where could he go. He was on a steep rock close to the northern coastline, hours away from home. Taehyung was this close to bursting into a hysterical laugh.

“I…” his voice broke and he cleared his throat, regrouping his thoughts. “You’re… you’re not shamans, are you?”

There was something akin to pity in Seokjin and Jungkook’s eyes, but Yoongi struggled to supress a snort. He took a step towards Taehyung, and now it was easy to see Yoongi was shorter than the rest.

“No, we’re not,” he said calmly.

“Are you… witches?” he winced at the distasteful word coming out of his mouth.

“Wizards,” Yoongi offered coming even closer and leaning his hip against the table with hard-working knives. “There’s a difference.”

“And what is that?” Taehyung suddenly felt defiant. They were just trying to sound important using some fancy words, weren’t they?

“Witches are just _mu_ — people like you who are sensitive to magic, and they learn to harness the parts of magic that are willing to be harnessed, and use it,” Yoongi’s sharp gaze never left Taehyung’s eyes. “Wizards are born with magic. We don’t harness it. We channel it. We live it.”

Taehyung felt his blood pump loud in his ears.

“Ah, that was beautiful, Yoongi-chi,” Seokjin commended, hand on his chest. “Couldn’t have said better myself.”

The back of Yoongi’s neck turned red and he cleared his throat, his eyes darting across his wide table.

“As for your restorative potion,” he said. “I’ve never tried brewing anything like that, but I think it’s possible. I just need to go through my stock to see if we need to fetch anything else. Do you have the copy of what I need to restore?” he turned back to Seokjin.

“Yep,” he pulled a vial full of Taehyung’s hair from behind his lapels. “Wooyoung-hyung collected a few strands.”

“That should do,” Yoongi nodded and turned back to his table.

He waved his hand across it, and all the clattering and ruckus on the tabletop died down. The ingredients from the tabletop slowly hovered into the air, and Yoongi began sorting them back and forth. He sent some of them into empty boxes that later levitated obediently straight towards a huge cupboard that occupied the entire wall.

Seemingly satisfied with his selection, Yoongi swiped his arm across the space in front of him in one big swing. The rest of the boxes and jars hidden in the cupboard and all over the room came back to life, levitating across the space towards Yoongi and orbiting around him like bunch of dutiful planets.

Yoongi hummed.

“Find everything you need?” Seokjin asked.

Yoongi reached for the spoon tied to his waist, snapping his fingers and flicking his wrist. The spoon slowly morphed into an ink brush, and a sheet of white paper materialized seemingly out of nowhere. Yoongi threw the brush up gently, and it began writing something down on the hovering sheet of paper.

“Rat tails and other vital ingredients are no problem,” he mused when the brush quickly jotted down the ingredients to the restorative potion. “But I’m out of dittany and porcupine quills.”

“That’s easy,” Jungkook sounded relieved. “Chansung hyung-nim will have those. I can get them.”

“I’ll also need a copper cauldron,” Yoongi rolled his tongue thoughtfully against the corner of his mouth. “And a mandrake root. Stewed.”

Seokjin sighed, closing his eyes.

“I was hoping you could find a replacement,” he said a little bit disappointed.

“Then it would take ages to brew,” Yoongi shrugged, his potions recipe along with the brewing instructions almost complete. “I’m already planning to speed up the process with a copper cauldron. Which I also need, by the way.”

“Mandrakes are import,” Seokjin pursed his lips. “Where are we going to get mandrakes at this time of the year?”

“You know where,” Yoongi gave him a pointed look.

Taehyung watched how silent understanding passed between the three men.

“Augh,” Seokjin groaned and buried his face behind his hands. Jungkook’s lips slowly shrank into a perfectly round “o.”

“We get to see Namjoon-hyung,” he breathed softly.

“Yeah, but to get to Namjoon, we have to go through THEM,” Seokjin tapped his foot impatiently. “It will be morning by the time they let us go,” he sounded weary just thinking about it. “You could be done with brewing the main concoction by then.”

“But you can use an excuse. You’re an officer!”

“And they’re big hyungs!”

“Then we split,” Jungkook said, his husky voice calm and collected. “I go for the missing ingredients. You take Yoongi-hyung with his stock and look for the cauldron.”

“Wow, that’s a great excuse to see Namjoon, isn’t it?” Seokjin crossed his arms cocking an eyebrow.

Jungkook’s cheeks flushed bright pink, but he stood his ground, raising his chin in defiance.

“Officer Kim, I’m sacrificing my gentle soul, so you could avoid endless discussions with venerable hyungs,” Jungkook’s voice suddenly switched into a perfect official tone. “I am deeply discouraged and saddened by your lack of gratitude.”

A confused silence fell over the room. Taehyung could swear he could hear cicadas crying outside. Even though it was definitely not a cicada season anymore.

“Right,” Yoongi sighed. “You two definitely spend too much time together,” he rubbed his tired face with his big hand. “What about the cauldron, then?

“I know for a fact the Park estate has recently received a new party of cauldrons from the Ming,” Seokjin gave him a cheeky smile. “And we both know that those boys like me too much to say “no” to my requests.”

“That house is a riot,” Yoongi grumbled slowly massaging his temples. He could feel a severe headache incoming even though they were still nowhere near the Park estate.

“That’s why you need me to distract them,” Seokjin winked poking Yoongi with his elbow and bursting into silly high-pitched giggles.

“Fair enough,” Yoongi nodded determined and raised his hand, staring pointedly at the brush suspended in the air.

The brush zoomed straight into Yoongi’s hand, reverting back to its spoon form, and Yoongi clasped it to his waist sash again. The sheet of paper folded itself carefully into four parts and levitated towards Yoongi. He gripped the paper and hid it behind his hanbok’s lapels. He then focused on Taehyung, something akin to worry flashing across his face.

“That house might be a bit too much for _mudungie_. Especially a first-timer,” he said. He sounded genuinely concerned.

“I’ll take care of him,” Jungkook volunteered without even batting an eye. “If he stays with me, I can ease him into it.”

“I’m at the state where I don’t really care what’s going on anymore, if I’m being honest,” Taehyung’s low voice filled the space like a warm all-encompassing vapour and the wizards blinked at him.

Seokjin cocked his eyebrow again, an amused smile playing on his lips. He hadn’t expected this boy to be so blunt or bold, and it was rather refreshing. However, Yoongi was right. The Park estate could’ve been a little bit overwhelming.

“Alright then, let’s go,” Seokjin pulled a lilac bag from one of his sleeves. “ _Beureum beureum_ , Yoongi’s ingredients,” he shook the silk bag and several dozens of small boxes, vials, and bottles sprang from the cupboard and off the table, racing into the bag.

Yoongi blinked, his mouth turning down into a perplexed frown.

“How did you even know which ingredients to summon?” he asked.

“Cuz I read the recipe?” Seokjin met his eyes as he pulled at the strings and the bag closed, shrinking to its original size. It looked like there were no more than five coins inside the bag when Seokjin hid it inside his sleeve again.

Taehyung took a step to the right, partly hiding behind Jungkook. Seokjin was uncharacteristically scary. He looked like he didn’t care about a thing in the world, but he managed to read the ingredient list while the paper was still dangling in the air.

Sharp eyes. And a sharp mind. And Taehyung knew an intelligent threat was always worse than brute force. He didn’t even want to know how the silk bag remained so small, with so much stuff inside.

“We can just apparate,” Seokjin suggested leaving the house, and the rest followed him in tow. “Provided we don’t land on someone’s drum or dinner,” he looked back over his shoulder as he walked down the granite steps into the front yard. “But it should be okay,” he giggled to himself, and his laugh was too squeaky for someone as intimidating.

The moon was high. The yard was drenched in silver moonlight, giving it an eerie feeling because everything was so still. Taehyung could see the tree tops moving wildly with the wind farther away, but it felt like Yoongi’s house was in a safe and calm bubble.

Yoongi walked to Seokjin and stood next to him, shoulder to shoulder, fumbling with his hanbok’s straps and swathing himself in additional layers. Taehyung saw Seokjin looking at him intently. He didn’t know if he should break the eye contact or not. But before he could decide, Seokjin took a hold of his sleeve and, with one sharp pull, he tore off a good chunk away.

Taehyung’s eyes widened. Seokjin threw the lilac piece of cloth at Jungkook and he caught it mid-air.

“Here,” Seokjin said, flicking his wrist. Taehyung watched gobsmacked as the elder’s robe mended itself right in front of his eyes. There was no sign of the tear. “Make the kid an overcoat. It’s getting chilly.”

Jungkook gave him an assertive nod when Seokjin, after short consideration, untied the purple fan hanging at his waist band. With a quick flick of his wrist, the fan opened with a loud snap, and Seokjin tossed it gracefully into the air. Gliding through the air, the fan gradually grew at least ten times its size, turning into an imposing half-moon, with a painted soft and pink plum blossom on one side.

The fan smoothly wafted across the yard, carefully halting in front of Jungkook about a foot above the ground. Its leaves vibrated softly.

“Use this,” he said to Jungkook, whose face was blank with utter confusion. “And spare the kid the horrors of sword surfing.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened impossibly.

“But hyung,” he breathed. “What if you need it?”

“Don’t stall, then,” Seokjin shrugged and gripped Yoongi at his shoulder. “See you soon, Taehyung.”

Yoongi raised his free hand to wave good-bye and, in the blink of an eye, they both disappeared with a loud “POP.” Taehyung could swear it looked like they were instantly sucked into a tiny hole, the size of a needle eye. He hoped it didn’t hurt.

“Alright,” Jungkook mumbled softly beside him. Taehyung turned to see him hold the piece of cloth from Seokjin’s robe in his right hand. He then gripped his right wrist with his left hand and lowered his head, closing his eyes and concentrating. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, and then a shudder shook his body, when a wave of faint light escaped his right arm and soaked into the cloth.

The cloth began changing its form and before he knew it, Taehyung was ogling at a high-quality lilac overcoat, hanging from Jungkook’s hand. The material looked thick and warm, and it even had matching strings and white lapels. It was a durumagi any scholar would wear.

“Is this okay?” Jungkook asked him, looking somewhat nervous. “Sorry, changing the colour is a bit of a hassle.”

Taehyung stared dumbly, unable to believe his ears. He was apologizing for this? For procuring a perfect overcoat when Taehyung had already been regretting his decision to leave home in a single jeogori?

“It looks great,” he said enthusiastically instead, when Jungkook shook the coat carefully in his hand. He beamed brightly at Taehyung, satisfied with his work.

He offered the overcoat to Taehyung, and he took it eagerly, slinging it over his shoulders, and pushing his arms straight into the sleeves. The size was just right, and the material felt pleasantly warm.

“I charmed it to heat you when you feel chilly,” Jungkook explained.

Taehyung looked up at the younger man in front of him, his fingers automatically knotting the straps. Jungkook’s face was open and kind; he looked almost excited about the entire quest, and Taehyung wondered how he was supposed to interpret this in the background of Jungkook’s overall dark style.

“Thank you,” he said with faint nod. “You didn’t say anything this time, though.”

“Huh?” Jungkook blinked, angling his head.

“Back when you touched me… You said,” Taehyung frowned trying to remember. “ _Dot_.”

“Ah,” Jungkook scratched at the back of his head. “It’s harder to channel magic on animate objects and people. Especially if I’ve never met them before,” he smiled sheepishly. “I usually try to use nonverbal spells, but sometimes incantations are hard to skip.”

Taehyung blinked. He decided to store this information at the back of his head for later processing because it was too late in the day to pretend he understood that.

“I see,” he nodded sagely. “Can I ask something, though?”

“Sure,” Jungkook nodded, his dark eyes shining bright in the moonlight.

“What’s a _mudungie_?”

The word’s been bothering him ever since he’s heard it in Wooyoung’s hut. Now, with the elder wizards gone, he felt more at ease to ask the younger man about it.

“Oh,” a flicker of understanding flashed across Jungkook’s face. “It’s from _muma_. No-magic. That’s what we call non magical people like you. _Mudungie_ is a more familiar term, I guess.”

“Sounds cute, I suppose,” Taehyung hemmed to himself when Jungkook turned back to the hovering fan. He couldn’t shake off the feeling there was something low-key condescending about the term.

Jungkook easily hopped onto the fan and immediately plopped down on the wide leaves crossed-legged. He looked back at Taehyung.

“Shall we go?”

What other choice did he have? He has come to a conclusion that this evening was already turning into a terribly long night. But if he wanted to go through it, he had to take Wooyoung’s advice and just go with the flow. So, he nodded and scrambled after Jungkook on his wobbly legs. The moment he sat down next to the younger man, the huge fan took off, leaving Yoongi’s calm bubble behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	3. Act 3: Boy Meets Gumiho

🕸️🕸️🕸️

Thick white fog slowly descended upon the mountain ridge, the crest so sharp and steep it looked like a set of jagged spine bones of some ancient giant animal. It loomed against the fog in the moonlight when Taehyung and Jungkook whizzed around the mountains, bare rocks and thick trees almost fighting for space on the ridge.

Taehyung could hear the sea in the east, maybe twenty or thirty li away. Its constant breaking of the waves blended seamlessly with the rustle of the wind in the between thick trees. There was not a sight of human light as far as the eye could see, and Taehyung wondered whether there really was no settlement around here, or it was that late in the night that everyone was asleep.

Diving down through the fog and slowly circling around the dark forest didn’t feel too reassuring, but they’ve spent most of their flight above the sea, and actual ground was more than a welcome sight to sore eyes.

Jungkook had said they’d cut a corner instead of following the coastline, but Taehyung had no idea it would mean almost skidding across the calm surface of the sea, the water glittering with the silver moonlight and reflecting their fan like an expensive mirror. Jungkook had looked thrilled when some small creatures, shining in indescribable blue light, soared out of the sea and jumped in small circles around them, seemingly wanting nothing more but to play. But Taehyung was glad his bottom was glued to the flying fan with another charm, and he didn’t want to stir a muscle.

Although he did agree the image itself had been beautiful. And the fan proved to be more comfortable than the sword.

They finally found an opening at the foot of the mountain, and the fan glided across the clearing, gradually stopping to a halt at the tree line. The charm expired and Taehyung slid off the fan sideways without even meaning to. He had held himself so stiff that his body locked when it was no longer stuck to the fan, and he tumbled down with a startled grunt.

“Oops, are you okay?” he heard Jungkook call behind him, his cheek smushed into the damp leaf litter.

“I’ll live,” Taehyung grunted as he sat up, rubbing at his shoulder.

He looked up to see Jungkook reach out at the fan, and it obediently shrank to its original size, wafting straight into his hand.

“Thank you,” he said looking kindly at the fan. “You’ve done well,” Taehyung could swear the fan vibrated at the praise. “Are you going to listen to me until I bring to back to Jin-hyung?” he asked and the fan vibrated positively again. “Oh, that’s so nice of you,” he cooed and tied the fan to his waist, right next to his norigae pendant.

It was now the only colourful accent in his attire, but the moonlight could barely penetrate through the thick fog and even thicker trees around them, so Jungkook looked like one dark silhouette. Taehyung figured he himself didn’t look any different.

He stood up and took in the forest in front of them. It was as thick as it was steep, rough strokes of dark green, gold, red and grey, and subdued silver intermingling in front of his eyes. The wind was barely there, but the forest wasn’t shrouded in complete silence. He couldn’t make out individual sounds, but Taehyung could swear it almost felt like the forest was breathing and slowly whispering something to him, trying to lure him in.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“Seoraksan,” Jungkook offered.

Taehyung’s mouth popped open as he stopped dead in his tracks. Seoraksan? They’ve just left the northern provinces. No wonder they skimmed right across the sea, but it didn’t seem to have taken that long. Just how fast did this fan go?

“Does the person who has the ingredients live on this mountain?” Taehyung asked again once he’s got his wits back and hurried after Jungkook into the thickset.

“Chansung-hyung lives anywhere he stops for the night,” Jungkook shrugged nonchalantly.

Taehyung had to force himself to stop gaping. He tried to wrap his mind around the sheer size of the mountain. And if this Chansung person didn’t have an actual house…

“How are we gonna find him then?” he asked with a desperate tinge in his voice.

“We’ll send him a message,” Jungkook flashed him a smile and halted abruptly.

Taehyung almost bumped his nose into his back, but he managed to swerve the last moment. Walking around the younger man, he gingerly looked around, but all he could see were black trees, thick leaves, and barely any traces of moonlight right where the sky was supposed to be. And they’ve just entered the forest. Taehyung gulped and focused on his companion.

Jungkook stood calm with his head down and eyes closed, clutching his right arm to his chest, left hand wrapped loosely around his right wrist. He looked very concentrated, but his face was devoid of any emotion, until he finally looked up and flung his right arm up, ending the motion with a sharp flick of his wrist, two of his fingers straight and pointing up.

Taehyung flinched when a string of silver light shot out of the tips of Jungkook’s fingers. Like a flying cannon ball, the lump of bluish silver light soared across a narrow path in a lazy arc, and then it landed on the ground with a burst of silent silver sparks. Taehyung blinked to see a silver rabbit stare back at them. The shining rabbit sat down on its hind legs, as if waiting for something. Its nose twitched.

“Go find Chansung-hyung,” Jungkook said.

The rabbit’s nose twitched again, its ears perking up, and it hopped off into the thickset disappearing into the night. Without the silver bunny, Taehyung suddenly became acutely aware of how dark it was.

“Can you make more of those?” he asked matter-of-factly.

“What? Why?” despite the all-encompassing darkness, Taehyung could see confusion written all over Jungkook’s face as he turned to look at him.

“It’s dark,” Taehyung pursed his lips. “You’re dark, too. I can’t see my feet. And so on.”

“Aww,” Jungkook smirked. “Afraid to get lost?”

Taehyung folded his arms across his chest and cleared his throat, looking away.

“That is,” he was glad his deep voice gave him an extra edge. “A very valid concern.”

“Do I need to hold your hand, hyung?” there was a silent laughter behind Jungkook’s words.

“Yes,” Taehyung replied without a sliver of doubt. “That would be greatly appreciated, to be honest.”

Jungkook buffered for a tiny moment, blinking once. Then he threw his head back, cackling in high-pitched wheezes, one hand at his belly, as if afraid his gut might fall out from laughing too much. Taehyung watched him feeling rather indignant about the entire situation.

“Alright,” Jungkook’s words were laced with airy laugh, like he couldn’t help himself. He snapped his fingers and three small balls of light popped into existence right in front of him. He blew lightly at them and they slowly hovered away, illuminating the meagre path in between thick trees.

“Here’s your light,” Jungkook said pointing his chin at the three hovering orbs. “And here’s your hand,” he offered his hand palm up and Taehyung took it without hesitation because he was not about to pretend that he wasn’t scared shitless in the middle of a probably magical forest.

“Let’s go,” Jungkook pulled him along.

The forest swallowed them without any sound. They slowly pushed forward, following the narrow path winding around trees, bushes, and rocks. The path was slithering up, and then hurrying down, clearly taking them around the mountain.

Owls hooted around them, and Taehyung could swear he heard unfamiliar things swishing and puffing, but the three hovering lights didn’t flicker at all. That made him feel calmer. Jungkook’s hand was also warm and dry, and Taehyung was really glad he’d taken it.

“This forest doesn’t feel normal,” he said looking ahead at how the leaves seemed to glitter in various colours, catching the light from the three floating orbs.

“It’s a magical forest,” Jungkook said matter-of-factly. He carefully looked around before following the path up. The silver rabbit was nowhere in sight.

“Is it full of dokkaebi or something?” Taehyung sniggered, trying to distract himself.

“This forest is full of all sorts of magical creatures, and dokkaebi don’t like sharing, so they’re not too common around here.”

Taehyung halted, pulling on Jungkook’s hand. Jungkook stopped and looked back; his form illuminated by the flying orbs. Taehyung tried to make his brain work again. He blanched.

“I’ve never thought dokkaebi are real…” he whispered.

“Oh, they’re real alright,” Jungkook laughed and pulled Taehyung along. “A lot of _muma_ legends have magical roots.”

“But they’re… terrifying!” Taehyung gasped.

“They can be mischievous, but they’re mostly harmless,” Jungkook shrugged. “Except for one species,” he added after a short consideration.

Taehyung whimpered and shuffled closer to the younger wizard, Jungkook cackling quietly to himself. He seemed to be immensely enjoying this.

The path led up into a wider opening against the mountain slope. It cut straight through lush maples and pines, towering on both sides of the path, shimmering in the dim light of their hovering orbs. The clearing was big enough for some of the moonlight to reach the ground, and Taehyung could now see that some of the maple leaves were red to the point they looked like they were bleeding.

The branches swayed in the light wind, some of the leaves losing the fight and slowly drifting down onto the ground, like big drops of blood. Taehyung could almost hear the liquid dripping in his head. He looked up to see a huge maple on the rising slope, with its foliage so thick that…

Taehyung felt his blood freeze in his veins. His nails dug painfully into Jungkook’s hand, and Jungkook turned quickly at him, but Taehyung just raised his hand, pointing a shaky finger at the tree, his eyes wide open.

Jungkook furrowed slightly at his reaction and turned to look at the tree. It was too dark for his eyes to adjust fast, and his brows knotted in a confused frown, as he took a step forward.

Silence rang in Taehyung’s ears when Jungkook raised his free hand to send their three lights towards the tree. But he then jumped back immediately, pulling Taehyung along, when a sharp gust of wind rushed right in front of them.

Jungkook glanced sharply to the right. There was a small cut on his left cheek.

“That’s no wind,” Jungkook mumbled, brushing the outside of his palm across his cheek, and smearing it with blood. His dark eyes darted back and forth, trying to get the hang of the situation. Taehyung felt his body lock up, like he was no longer in charge of it, and he was just a ragdoll controlled by someone else.

Another strong gust dashed their way, but this time Jungkook saw it coming. He pulled Taehyung out of the way, leaping towards the bleeding tree in one big jump. Taehyung hiccoughed as Jungkook soared, pulling him along.

He plopped onto the ground when Jungkook grabbed the fan tied at his waist sash mumbling something to it. He then drew a big half a circle on the path in front of the tree, trapping Taehyung in it, too. The clean line glowed in bright yellow, and Jungkook stepped outside of it, planting his feet firmly onto the ground. He listened carefully.

Another strong wind gust came, almost as if someone was running at a great speed, and Jungkook jumped out of the way again. Soaring backwards and his hanbok fluttering in the wind, he snapped Seokjin’s fan open and gave it one firm wave. A string of light burst out of the fan like a crashing wave, following after the violent gust of wind.

The wave of light crashed into its target, and Taehyung heard a grunt and a thud. Like someone had fallen down. A dark sniggering came from the opposite side, one voice sounding like two. The sharp dissonance in the sound made Taehyung’s hair stand on end.

“What’s that?” Taehyung whispered frantically.

“Wild dokkaebi,” Jungkook said looking around, catching all the growing growling, panting, and whistling sounds. “Whatever’s in that tree, must’ve lured them in.”

Taehyung was afraid to look up and see what was actually stuck in the tree. He kept his eyes trained solely on Jungkook because his posture was wary, but confident.

“Stay inside the barrier,” the wizard said, reaching inside his hanbok for something. “I’ll hold them back until Chansung-hyung arrives.”

“Are you gonna be okay?” Taehyung asked alarmed.

Jungkook glanced at him over his shoulder, a confident smirk playing on his lips.

“I’ll be fine,” the glowing lights were beginning to burn brighter behind him. “Just gotta make sure they don’t damage the forest.”

“But they’re invisible!”

Jungkook pulled his hand out of his lapels, pinching five long and narrow talisman strips between his middle and pointer fingers.

“Dokkaebi _gamtu_ ,” he said and let the talismans fly with a sudden flick to his wrist.

They soared across the opening in different directions with a slight whistle, quickly finding their targets, and sticking to something in between the trees. In the dim moonlight and the soft glow of the hovering orbs, Taehyung watched five creatures fall to the ground, seemingly out of thin air, when Jungkook’s talismans knocked off their hats.

Taehyung hugged his knees, biting hard on his lower lip. The wild dokkaebi were… wild. He was glad he couldn’t see them properly, as something told him these were that one species that weren’t friendly. Every single one of them was at least twice as big as Jungkook, with a thick mane of unruly hair, two horns each at the top of their foreheads, sticking into various directions. Their eyes glowed in the dark with round yellow irises, huge mouths full of sharp teeth and even sharper canines. Those fangs were so big they jutted out even with their mouths closed.

Arms long, almost reaching the ground, and legs relatively short, they looked both scary and ridiculous, and Taehyung didn’t know if he was supposed to be disgusted or amused. Instead, he settled for terrified, when the dokkaebi howled at the sudden loss of their invisibility hats, and raised their clubs high above their heads, focusing on Jungkook.

Galumphing like a set of unbalanced and hungover individuals, they lunged at Jungkook from all the sides, waving their clubs at him.

Jungkook opened the fan again and jumped up, spinning around his axis, the fan showering bright glitter around him. The dokkaebi howled when they ran into each other, the glitter landing on them and burning their skin.

Jungkook smirked satisfied, but then two of the dokkaebi disappeared out of sight and he tensed, gripping the fan tighter. The remaining three lunged back at him again, but he didn’t move, and Taehyung was about to lose his mind when Jungkook suddenly raised his right arm up, blocking a blow from a dokkaebi club. One of the goblins had reappeared right next to him.

At the same time, he waved the fan behind him with his left hand, blowing the second sneaky dokkaebi away before it could even raise its club. His arm still blocking the club, Jungkook soared backwards to avoid the incoming three goblins, and his entire right sleeve tore away from his hanbok, stuck to dokkaebi’s club.

Jungkook stared momentarily at his naked arm. Taehyung could see strange dark markings slithering across his pale skin, twining around the entire length of the arm like a special type of ivy.

“I liked this coat,” Jungkook mumbled thoughtfully. The last remnants of playfulness sizzled out of his demeanour and he frowned, calculating his next move.

He then disappeared with a “pop” and reappeared in the blink of an eye behind the dokkaebi, fanning another spell at them, tripping them, and rounding them into one spot. The dokkaebi grunted and howled, and snapped their fangs at the wizard, but he was fast, and he kept on popping here and there, blocking them from moving around the perimeter.

If any of them disappeared, Jungkook would send the fan or a talisman over before they even reappeared, knocking them down the moment they tried to get closer to Taehyung and the tree. Taehyung found it fascinating that Jungkook had no intention to destroy them. He was just rounding them up, and holding them down, and that’s what clearly was pissing them off.

The longer Jungkook held them off, the more violent they became, and it only added to Jungkook’s task to protect the forest. The dokkaebi were soon to find an opening, Taehyung was sure of it. They were evil, they were dark. Taehyung figured, if they were dark magic, you needed light to fight darkness, and there was only so much light Jungkook could give against a genuinely evil being.

Taehyung felt rather than heard a speedy and light thumping behind him, when a vibrant ball of light jumped out of the thickset and zoomed right past him, hurrying towards Jungkook. In a few long zigzag jumps, it pushed off the ground and kicked one dokkaebi straight in the face with its thick hind legs, knocking it over.

The silver bunny of light landed on the ground and looked up at Jungkook.

“Hey, you,” Jungkook smiled.

The bunny’s nose twitched. Its ears perked up when Jungkook smirked back at it, and then both jumped, rounding the dokkaebi into a narrow circle.

Taehyung stared speechless at how they worked as a perfect team, almost like they were two halves of the same being. He was so focused on them kicking the dokkaebi that he didn’t even notice another creature leisurely mince past him.

It’s only when it came into his line of sight, blocking the view of the fight, that Taehyung realized there was a small fox. An actual fox with fluffy fur and black paws and even fluffier tail. Its fur was so bright and orange it seemed that the fox was glowing. It was so orange, almost like a…

“Carrot!” Jungkook shouted and Taehyung looked up alarmed.

Three of the dokkaebi were gone, and Jungkook with the rabbit were frantically trying to anticipate their landing. But there were just the two of them, and a whole three dokkaebi were missing.

“The _mudungie_ , Carrot!” Jungkook yelled again, pointing at Taehyung.

The fox turned around to look at him, and Taehyung hiccoughed seeing its bright blue eyes. He didn’t even have time to blink when the fox (Carrot?) suddenly popped up right in front of him, the hair along its spine and its tail puffing up as it growled at something invisible.

Sure enough, one of the dokkaebi reappeared right in front of them, and Taehyung almost gagged, his nose assaulted by the foul stench. Dokkaebi’s drool dipped down its mouth, and its shallow breathing was accompanied by its terrible voice, almost like something scraping against its vocal cords.

Carrot the fox yapped and growled at it, but dokkaebi didn’t seem to mind it. It raised its club, ready to swing it at Taehyung. He felt his breath stuck in his throat, seeing the tip of the sharp club. But then the next thing he knew, he was swaddled in something warm and fuzzy, the dokkaebi blocked from his view.

Taehyung blinked and looked around. He was surrounded by orange fur, and it glowed. The fox’s tail was suddenly the size of a grown person, and Taehyung was wrapped in it. There was so much fur. The dokkaebi was still baring its fangs at the fox, but the club was snatched between the fox’s jaws, its bright blue eyes burning with intense animosity towards the dokkaebi.

The fox was now huge, bigger than Taehyung, and it chewed on dokkaebi’s club, crushing it into multiple pieces like an old bone. Taehyung stared at all the fur. He was swaddled just in one tail. But there were more. He gulped. There were many more tails.

 _“_ A gumiho,” he breathed.

The dokkaebi didn’t dare to take on a gumiho, but it didn’t intend to give up the confrontation. It sounded and looked livid. Taehyung buried his face into the fluffy tail because he wasn’t sure he could keep the dokkaebi out of his nightmares if he stared at it any longer. What even. He had solely wanted his hair back.

“Nice!” Jungkook whooped. Taehyung assumed the rabbit had executed another extraordinary kick.

In the midst of the ruckus at the front, Taehyung heard more of the quiet tapping against the fallen leaves and dry branches behind him. It felt almost like there was a screen of calm slowly wafting over from behind, and Taehyung looked up from the fluffy tail to see another set of paws in front of him. And another. And another.

There was an entire group of foxes, slowly emerging from the forest, all different in colouring, but same in their small size and shining blue eyes. They took in the unfolding scene and yipped and growled at the dokkaebi, sounding more annoyed than threatening.

The silver rabbit thumped its hind legs relentlessly on a dokkaebi’s forehead, forcing it to stay flat on the ground. Jungkook tripped another one and looked up. His face broke into a toothy grin.

“Hyung-nim!” he greeted.

Taehyung curiously looked around, wondering which of the foxes was the hyung, until he saw a man come out into the opening between all the foxes. The man was big and tall, taller than Taehyung. There was a silver fox resting on his shoulders, its blue eyes watching warily everything in the vicinity.

The man wore long grey robes, with several bags tied to the sash against his waist. He had no sword, just a long narrow staff in his hand, his wrists wrapped tight in a sturdy fabric to guard them. Taehyung focused on the face.

The man had soft, but strong features, with big bovine eyes and a distinctive nose. He kept his wavy hair loose as it fell on his shoulders, a stray leaf stuck in between his strands here and there. His mouth with a pouty upper lip was framed in between carefully trimmed moustache and goatee. Taehyung suddenly wanted to ask what his secret to facial hair was, but then, he figured, there was a good chance he would’ve also said “magic.”

The man gave Taehyung a curious once-over, and then focused on Jungkook, looking completely unperturbed by the five dokkaebi disrupting peace in his forest.

“Jungkook-ah!” he greeted with a soft smile. “Allow me,” he took a step forward and raised his staff.

Jungkook jumped away from the dokkaebi and gave a curt bow.

“Of course.”

The man plunged his staff into the ground, and it vibrated under Taehyung’s knees. Jungkook soared back inside his barrier, landing next to Taehyung.

The earth kept on shaking, vibrations like small waves rippling across the clearing, small stones rattling lightly against the ground. Light pulsed from the man’s staff, and it shot across the space like a light from a beacon, rounding the dokkaebi and pushing them into a pulsing bright box. They howled and growled, but they couldn’t do anything about it.

The trees seemed to rustle in agreement around them, the leaves almost clapping. The pulsing light box suddenly sealed itself off, like a fancy sack tying its own laces, and it shrank to the size of a waist bag, plopping onto the ground. The encompassing light and trembling vibrations disappeared, but the bag kept on pulsing faintly where it had fallen.

“Carrot,” the forest man said gently to the big orange fox. It looked back from the bag and focused its bright blue eyes on him. “Take out the trash,” he nodded.

Carrot the fox blinked and Taehyung stumbled when it gradually shrank down to its previous size, looking like your average neighbourhood fox. It yipped at Taehyung in a friendly manner, gracefully trotted to the pulsing magic bag, snatched it in between its teeth, and minced away carrying the trapped Dokkaebi with it.

Taehyung blinked.

“Why couldn’t you do that?” he whispered at Jungkook who was checking out his damaged coat. One sleeve was completely gone, and there were a few tears along the side seams, too.

“The forest doesn’t trust me enough to channel my magic through it like that,” he mumbled thoughtfully, and Taehyung decided to drop the subject because he knew he would need at least a few more months to understand what was going on.

“Oh, poor thing,” Taehyung heard the man say.

He looked up to see that the man’s staff was still shining like a beacon, but now it was pointed at the tree behind them. Trailing his eyes up the trunk towards the foliage and dreading what he was about to see, Taehyung steeled himself for the worst.

He gripped Jungkook’s elbow with an incredulous gasp leaving his lips, when his eyes finally landed on the big lump in the middle of the red foliage.

“What?” Taehyung couldn’t believe his eyes.

There was a horse. His mind couldn’t really process the image, but he sure had a good eyesight, and that was indeed a bay horse stuck in between the tree branches. The horse looked no more than a year old, still young and presumably unconscious because it wasn’t moving. It was just hanging like it’s crashed into the branches, nasty wounds in its shoulder and thigh, blood slowly seeping out of it and dripping down onto the leaves and onto the ground. Its mane and tail were stuck in smaller branches like elaborate cobwebs, its wings spread in weird angles…

Wait, what? Taehyung closed his eyes and shook his head. Its what?

“Jungkook, help me get him out of there,” the man asked stepping forward when Taehyung opened his eyes again. Yep, the wings were still here.

Jungkook joined the man in front of the tree snapping Seokjin’s fan open. They both flicked their wrists with the fan and the staff, and they slowly levitated the injured colt out of the tree and carefully laid it on the leafy ground.

Close up, Taehyung could see that the wounds weren’t too deep, but the animal must’ve lost of a lot of blood. He politely ignored the fact that the horse had black silky wings. He would like to go back to this information later.

The forest man hit his staff against the ground again. A small orb of light shot out of it and up into the sky it went, almost like it was sending a message. Then the man waved his staff across and over the colt, and delicate webs of light covered its wounds, glittering faintly in the moonlight.

“It’s a good thing you found him first,” he said turning around and facing Jungkook and Taehyung again. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, hyung-nim,” Jungkook bowed and Taehyung followed suit. “Thank you for coming to see us.”

“Who’s your new friend, Jungkook-ah?” the man gave Taehyung the same curious glance. His eyes were kind, without a single trace of malice, and Taehyung instinctively trusted this forest man.

Jungkook breathed in and launched into a well-rehearsed spiel about who Taehyung was and how they came to meet each other. Taehyung only bowed and uttered his greetings when he was finally introduced to this Chansung-hyung. He was grateful that Jungkook took over the explanation because the unconscious horse with glittering bandages and the entire horde of foxes were making dents on his ability to concentrate. The silver fox on Chansung’s shoulders was still staring right at him with its sharp blue eyes. It was unnerving.

“<…> so, if you could help us with the ingredients, you would save Wooyoung-hyung’s reputation as the great village shaman,” Jungkook concluded running out of breath.

Chansung laughed quietly to himself.

“Wooyoung’s still at it, isn’t he?” he asked scratching his head.

“It’s good business,” Jungkook shrugged.

“We should pay him a visit soon, shouldn’t we?” he turned left to the fox on his shoulders, and the fox yipped in agreement. Chansung smiled and scratched it under its chin. There was nothing but genuine affection in his eyes. “Alright, what do you need?” he asked focusing on Jungkook again.

“Dittany and porcupine quills,” the younger wizard recited without a blip. He was standing straight, hands at his sides, as if relaying orders from the higher ups.

“It’s your lucky day,” Chansung hummed and pulled at one of the bags tied to his sash. Untying the bag, he shoved his hand inside. Taehyung flinched when almost half of his arm disappeared inside the bag, although it was half the size of the man’s hand.

After a little bit of rummaging, Chansung pulled out a smaller dark green bag tied with a golden thread and tossed it at Jungkook.

“That’s your dittany,” he said when Jungkook caught it and hid it behind his lapels. Chansung plunged half of his arm back into his not-so-ordinary bag, and after a few shoves here and there, he pulled his hand out again, clutching a black bag with a dark blue thread. “And that’s your porcupine quills,” he tossed the bag at Jungkook again and the latter caught it with a big grin on his face.

“Thank you so much, hyung-nim!” he bowed again, and Taehyung scrambled to follow, too.

“Thank you, nari,” he breathed.

“Please,” Chansung choked on air at the title. “Just “hyung” is more than fine,” he offered a warm smile. “Come over to muck the stables sometime instead,” he smirked. “Bring Seokjin, too.”

“Please no,” Jungkook groaned, and Taehyung wanted to agree that mucking the stables sounded like a rather high price tag for whatever the ingredients they’ve just got. “With Seokjin-hyung, that would turn into a competition.”

Oh, Taehyung blinked. Alright. Maybe not.

“Which would mean you’d be done faster,” Chansung gave a good-natured laugh.

Jungkook didn’t have time to retort when they heard the tree tops sway with a light breeze. The breeze grew along with a mighty flapping sound in the distance. If Taehyung didn’t know any better, he would’ve guessed a giant bird was approaching.

Chansung looked up.

“Ah, here they come,” he nodded when two big shadows soared across the sky and circled around the opening, gradually getting closer to the ground.

Taehyung watched with this mouth agape as two grown horses landed one after another into the clearing, their huge black wings spread wide, their hooves clacking against the stone path. Right, he couldn’t ignore it anymore.

“I guess cheollima are real, too,” he deadpanned glancing at Jungkook. The young wizard snorted; his big front teeth prominent in the dim light.

“They’re more common up north, but Chansung-hyung runs a sanctuary,” he said as way of confirmation.

“Of course,” Taehyung sighed, weighing down his head.

One of the horses, a bay one, carefully trotted to the injured colt and sniffed its unconscious form. Taehyung noticed the injured youngling and the newcomer had identical colouring. The bay horse looked up from the colt and nickered at Chansung.

“He’ll be fine,” Chansung said calmly. “I’ll take him home with me. We’re lucky these lads found him before the dokkaebi,” he motioned at Jungkook and Taehyung, and both horses focused on them like they knew what he was talking about. Which they probably did because the bay horse walked over to Jungkook and gently bumped its muzzle against his cheek.

Jungkook giggled grinning and rubbed enthusiastically under the horse’s chin.

“You’re welcome,” he said softly.

The other horse stood slightly farther away, observing everything, its black coat offering a perfect camouflage this late at night. It didn’t look intimidating, perhaps just thoughtful, but Taehyung figured it was friendly enough because some of the foxes have taken to playing tag around its long legs. It neighed eventually, snatching Chansung’s attention.

Chansung looked back at it, and the black horse snorted, shaking its long mane.

“Ah,” Chansung frowned lightly. “They feel indebted to you. Is there anything they could help you with?” he asked the two younger boys, focusing on them again.

Both Jungkook and Taehyung blinked caught unawares, suddenly lost for words.

“Uh…” they were very eloquent.

“Didn’t you say you have a few more places to go?” Chansung’s eyebrows rose, trying to recall Jungkook’s tale. “Pebble here can give you a lift.”

And as if on cue, the black horse trotted closer, shaking its mane and standing sideways, showcasing its wide back. Taehyung didn’t know what was more bizarre, a flying fan or a flying horse. But one look at the glossy feathers was enough for him to conclude that the poor fan didn’t stand a chance against this creature.

“That would be great! Thank you so much!” Jungkook beamed and gave Chansung one last bow. “Thank you so much, hyung-nim!” he then bowed at the horse and jumped onto its back without any hesitation. “Thank you, Pebble,” he gently patted its thick neck.

“Tell Junho I said hi,” Chansung took a step back, giving Pebble more space to work its wings. The foxes scooted away from the horse, running to the injured colt or hiding behind Chansung.

“Will do,” Jungkook nodded and offered Taehyung a hand. “Let’s go, hyung.”

Taehyung eyed the dark intimidating markings on Jungkook’s naked arm, feeling slightly sick to his stomach. He wondered just how many more times he’d have to fly tonight. With nothing but silent resignation pushing him forward, he gave one last bow to Chansung and took Jungkook’s hand once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	4. Act 4: Boy Meets Baby Elephant

🕸️🕸️🕸️

Pebble left them outside of a huge wooden gate with sophisticated carvings, somewhere north of Hanyang. The gate was illuminated with bright torches, but Taehyung had a feeling that wasn’t a genuine fire because it burned bright but not hot. He also realized this time they landed outside and not straight in the middle of the main yard, like they had done when they met Yoongi. The complex behind the gate must’ve been of great importance.

Jungkook fussed with his clothes, once again assessing the damage in front of the burning torches, until he gave a resigned sigh.

“I’ll need to make us both look more presentable,” he mumbled under his breath, eyeing Taehyung up and down. “Those hyungs and their entourage are no joke,” he gripped his chin, thinking of the best way to go about it.

Taehyung couldn’t take his eyes off of Jungkook’s arm. In the bright light of the magical torches, he could now see that indeed, the arm was full of markings that looked like texts in at least several different writing systems. There were symbols and drawings he couldn’t recognize. Most of them were swirling and twining around the entire length of his arm like black ink ivy, circling around his elbow, forearm, and even all the way down to two of his fingers.

It was challenging to wrap his mind around. Taehyung knew that usually only slaves and thieves would be humiliated with body marks. But Jungkook clearly was neither a slave nor a thief, so Taehyung wondered what happened for him to have his body damaged liked that.

“What?” Jungkook pulled him out of his stupor, noticing Taehyung’s thoughtful stare.

Taehyung blinked rapidly and shook his head. He tried to swallow, but his throat was too dry after the ride. Nevertheless, he pointed at Jungkook’s arm and said:

“Are those… curses?”

“Huh?” Jungkook blinked confused and then looked at his arm. “Oh… No. These are mostly advanced spells and incantations. And common charms,” he flexed almost thoughtfully. “Helps me channel magic without tools.”

Taehyung felt tiny needles poking along his hairline, like a definite onset of panic, ready to crash down onto him.

“You mean, you got these willingly?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook nodded. “Makes casting spells a lot more convenient.”

Taehyung hiccoughed and took a step back. His black clothes, his dark accessories, the way he didn’t kill the dokkaebi, the dark markings on his skin…

“You’re…” suddenly Taehyung found it hard to breathe. “You’re…”

Jungkook finally noticed how pale Taehyung looked. He took a careful step forward, with his hands obediently at his sides where Taehyung could see them.

“I’m not a dark wizard,” he said softly. “I know there’s no way I could prove it to you right now, but I’m not. Breathe, hyung.”

Taehyung closed his eyes and tried to calm down his breathing, replaying everything he’s gone through tonight scene by scene. Right, right. Alright. Okay. He followed a steady breathing pattern, the cloud in his head slowly receding.

Had there been any evil involved, their village would’ve felt the consequences. But Wooyoung’s been their shaman for a while now, and it didn’t seem like there were any curses flying around. Maybe he overreacted.

“But,” Taehyung gasped opening his eyes and pointed accusingly at Jungkook. He was now only two steps away from him. “But it’s a gift from your parents! Your body is a sacred gift! You shouldn’t harm it no matter what!”

“My mom drew these,” Jungkook shrugged.

Taehyung’s jaw dropped. How was that even supposed to compute…?

“Look,” Jungkook sighed. “Yoongi-hyung said we channel magic, right?”

Taehyung nodded dumbly.

“It’s hard to channel it without a tool that can concentrate the flow towards a precise result,” Jungkook said bringing the purple fan to their eye level. “This is Seokjin-hyung’s tool. If you don’t use a tool, casting spells is like throwing an arrow backwards while wearing a blindfold. And like any art or science, channelling magic has different methods, too.

“My mother comes from an old line that uses ancient nomad ways to channel magic. Instead of tools, they use body art to contain spells and channel it directly through their bodies. There are limits to how many spells you can contain like that, but it’s very convenient and efficient. Plus, it’s kinda pretty,” he fondly eyed his markings.

“What did your father say…” Taehyung tried to grab at the last straw. Jungkook offered him a lopsided smirk and a shrug.

“My dad’s a _muma_ , like you. So, he didn’t really have much say in this.”

There was a distinctive ringing in his ears, and Taehyung wondered if that was the first sign of hunger or losing one’s marbles.

“Alright,” Jungkook raised his hand and pulled the black binyeo out of his bun, letting his hair fall loose on his shoulders in messy cascades. “Let’s clean up before we go in.”

Taehyung stared quizzically at the black hairpin in Jungkook’s hand, its obsidian gem twinkling mysteriously in the torch light. It didn’t look like a regular binyeo. Something clicked in Taehyung’s mind.

“I thought you said you didn’t use tools,” he cocked an eyebrow. Jungkook matched him by cocking his own. The left corner of his lips curved up.

“Perceptive,” he commended. “I didn’t say I didn’t use tools. I just said I could go without them for the most common spells and charms. I do have a tool though,” he eyed his hairpin. “And it’s great for more random charms that require a lot of precision. Now,” he took a step back and eyed Taehyung up and down. “Is the lilac okay? Because with this,” he twirled the hairpin between his fingers. “I can change colours, too.”

“Uh… it’s fine?”

“Alright,” Jungkook nodded and flicked his wrist, waving the hairpin around.

Taehyung felt like he was suddenly pushed in a snug glove, and then someone started pulling it off of him. Like peeling the skin off a tangerine, he watched his old clothes gradually change into something new, starting from his shoes, then his trousers, then his shirt and his coat. Washed-out white of his trousers changed into light purple, along with the dark yellow of his shirt.

He was suddenly standing in a set of an expensive-looking silk hanbok and a lilac coat to match it all. He could feel his headband’s material changed too, and his hair now fell on his shoulders in straight lines, along with a small braid hanging at the back of his head. He no longer felt the residual grime on his skin, and he could swear he also smelled nice.

Taehyung reached a tentative hand towards his face, carefully running his fingertips across his cheeks. Despite having been punched in the face by cold winds several times tonight, his skin didn’t feel rough at all.

He looked up to see that Jungkook has done a number on himself as well. He now looked more like a scholar than a warrior. His hanbok was still black, but it now looked smooth and silky, with both sleeves present. The blood on his cheek gone, and his hair was tied into a clean pony tail at the top of his head, without a single stray strand sticking out. There was now also a black headband on his forehead, with his sharp eyebrows on full display.

He pinned the black binyeo back into the band that held his ponytail in place and gave Taehyung a quick onceover.

“I think we’re ready,” he nodded, satisfied with the result.

Taehyung gulped and nodded back. Jungkook turned to the gate and took a deep breath.

“ _Irioneora!_ Guest at the gate!”

Taehyung watched, like in a dream, how the gate opened and they were ushered inside no questions asked by two men dressed in dark blue coats. The men bowed at them and urged them to go further, closing the gate.

It was a big mansion with multiple buildings, all lit with hovering lanterns and the same peculiar torches. Instead of gravel, each building was connected by stone paths, and there was a particular quiet rustle about the place, indicating that no one was asleep.

Jungkook confidently led him through the complex, bypassing what looked like storage buildings, servant quarters, guard quarters, libraries, study pavilions, and multiple sleeping quarters. The path led them through an elaborate garden with hovering bridges that changed their direction every now and then, and glowing fish in the ponds.

Taehyung fought the urge to pinch at Jungkook’s coat and follow him like a duckling, but he had also been greeted like a nari by the men in blue, and he was determined to play the part.

They crossed over another bridge before it began rotating, glowing fish jumping out of the water and across the low bridge in a dangerous and elaborate play. They found themselves in front of another wide pavilion that stood on thick granite columns. They were tall enough you needed to take the stairs to reach the first floor. The columns were engraved with a feather pattern, and when the lanterns and torches cast their glow on the pavilion, it looked like it was guarded by a huge bird, shielding the building with its glimmering wings.

A guard stood at the bottom of the stairs to the first floor. She also wore dark blue, and she gave a polite bow the moment she seemed to recognize Jungkook.

“Jungkook-nari,” she offered him a smile. “What brings you to the House of Jade?”

“I am sorry to barge in like this unannounced. We have an urgent matter at hand, and I would like to seek an audience with Kim Namjoon,” he sounded polite, but firm.

She spared Taehyung a glance at “we,” and he fought the urge to hide behind Jungkook. Taehyung noticed she had a norigae and a flute at her waist, and he couldn’t help but think those were also… tools.

“Scholar Kim is currently preoccupied, but I will let you know when he can see you,” she moved away from the stairs and motioned at the pavilion. “In the meantime, would you care to join the Jade masters for dinner?”

“That would be our pleasure,” Jungkook gave a polite nod and beckoned Taehyung to tag along up the stairs.

Taehyung quickly nodded at the guard and hurried after Jungkook. He could hear a calm chatter at the top of the stairs, the floor clearly illuminated with multiple lanterns and candles, and other types of lightings he couldn’t even find a name for.

“It’s quite late for a dinner,” Taehyung pointed out carefully making his way up step by step.

“This house never sleeps,” Jungkook whispered back. “These hyungs are really chatty. They’re not bad; they can just be a little bit overwhelming,” he warned. “So, don’t let that get to you, hm?”

Taehyung pursed his lips in a thin line and gave one resolute nod. Jungkook smirked and climbed up the stairs.

What they saw upstairs was a wide expanse of a banquet hall with a low and long table in the middle. The dark wood table was set with all sorts of dishes and side dishes. Taehyung was sure he knew the names for less than half of the food over there, but the scent alone made his stomach growl.

The pavilion opened into the garden, where the ponds, moving bridges, and the jumping fish glittered in the moonlight. Half of the pavilion was littered with cushions, sets of drums, gayageums, and flutes set aside neatly next to one column. As if the performers had been done for the night and they left their instruments there after leaving the place.

There were only three men at the long table, sitting cross-legged on the floor, their hands frozen with full glasses. They all blinked. Jungkook bowed.

“Jungkook-ah!” the man in a forest green hanbok put down his glass and scrambled to his feet, hurrying towards Jungkook with his arms wide open.

The man had a low voice and tan skin, his perky deep-set eyes burning with a mischievous mirth. He was very tall and he showed more than half of his teeth when he smiled.

“Fancy seeing you here!” he boomed and skidded to a halt around two steps away from Jungkook, as if remembering that hugs were not his thing.

“Hyung-nim,” Jungkook bowed again. “Excuse me for intruding upon…”

“Nonsense!” countered another man at the table. His eyes turned into crescents as he laughed, his voice pleasantly smooth. “Bring him over here, hyung,” the man in a wine-red hanbok motioned at the table. “Who’s your friend, Jungkook-ah?”

Before he could even make sense out of what was going on, Taehyung was seated at the table full of mouth-watering dishes, side dishes, fruit, and drinks. Jungkook was giving a short explanation of their quest seated on Taehyung’s right, and the third man right across from them pushed a plate full of steamed ribs towards Taehyung.

He stared at the steaming dish. The meat looked so tender it was bound to melt in your mouth. Taehyung gulped when his stomach growled and he surreptitiously elbowed Jungkook in his upper arm.

“May I?” he inquired quietly.

“Of course!” the man in the wine-red hanbok exclaimed, levitating several side dishes across the long table towards Taehyung. “Jungkook’s friend is our friend. You must be having quite a night, young lad.”

His eyes wide as saucers, Taehyung stared at all the dishes that hovered towards him and carefully landed on the table in a fancy formation.

“He’s been holding up quite well for a first-timer,” Jungkook pointed out, humbly receiving a drink from the man in green. He nodded and turned away from the elder men to down his drink.

Taehyung gingerly picked a set of chopsticks that had floated towards him along with his meal.

“He’s never been exposed before?!” the man in green gasped and eyed Taehyung up and down as if seeing him in a completely new light. “Nerves of steel,” he whistled.

“Dig in,” the man in red urged with a smile on his face when he noticed that Taehyung was still hesitating.

Taehyung gripped the chopsticks firmly.

“Thank you for the meal,” he bowed and went straight for the ribs. The meat separated from the bone almost with no effort, and Taehyung struggled to suppress a moan at the sight.

Jungkook kept on chatting with the two enthusiastic lords (or whatever they were, Taehyung wasn’t sure how the statuses worked in this magic thing), and Taehyung tuned out the conversation in favour of food. He’s lived a life comfortable enough that his family never starved, but he has never tasted something as exquisite as the dishes in front of him. The sheer variety of side dishes was dazzling, and he figured that if there was something positive to take from his current predicament, it was the free meal.

With the chatter a faint background, and Jungkook clearly trying to be entertaining and polite at the same time, Taehyung couldn’t help but notice that the man right in front of him has been silent the entire time.

His head still low as he stuffed himself with some vegetables he didn’t even know the name for, Taehyung carefully looked up, his dark irises climbing as high as possible.

The man was watching Jungkook and the other two with a fond expression on his face. He was really handsome with soft features, warm brown eyes, and really thick eyebrows. His fair skin was a stark contrast to his black hair, and Taehyung frowned noticing that the man’s hair was extremely short. Maybe just slightly longer than Taehyung’s thumbnail. As if the man had shaven his entire head and was now letting his hair grow back. Taehyung briefly wondered what that could be about, but then he decided to stop questioning the wizards and their hair attitude because they definitely didn’t think much of it (except for Seokjin, maybe).

Chewing thoughtfully, Taehyung focused on the man’s clothes and he realized that it wasn’t a hanbok. The man was wearing a white silk shirt, but the coat thrown on top was something Taehyung’s never seen before. It was a loose coat that seemed to be flowing with every move the man made. The collar, lapels, sleeves, and the bottom of coat were all embroidered in gold, displaying intricate interwoven patterns. It almost looked as if some of them were moving leisurely in the lantern light.

The man must’ve felt Taehyung’s gaze on him because he finally turned to look at him. Taehyung stopped chewing, but he didn’t look way. The man smiled, and Taehyung started chewing again.

“That is a beautiful durumagi,” he said eyeing the robe.

“Thank you,” the man said gently, ignoring the ruckus right next to them. There was a strange accent to the way he spoke. “It’s called khrui.”

Taehyung wanted to ask where the man was from, but he didn’t know if that was rude. He wondered what his tools where, as he couldn’t see anything like a norigae, or a hairpin, or a fan, or even a sword around him. Maybe he wasn’t even magical, but that didn’t seem plausible because his robe… khrui was almost vibrating with it.

“By the way, Chansung-hyung sends his greetings,” Taehyung’s ear perked up at a familiar name, when Jungkook put down his glass and picked his chopsticks again.

“Aw, that’s nice of him,” the man in green hummed pleased.

“To be precise,” Jungkook shoved a steamed cabbage roll into his mouth. “The exact quote was “ _Tell Junho I said hi_ ,” he mumbled through a mouthful of food, but his words were still clear.

The man in green choked on his drink, while the man in red burst into uncontrollable giggles, almost falling over. His eyes shrank into crescents; he looked like a small sunshine when he smiled.

“That punk,” he laughed and then put his hand to his chest. “Why thank you. Thank you,” he bowed, and Taehyung figured this was the Junho person.

“How rude,” the man in green literally pouted and Taehyung had to do a double-take at that. “This is the House of _Jade_ , after all,” he whined petulantly.

“To be frank,” Jungkook shrugged, carefully reading the atmosphere around the table. “We’re here to see Namjoon-hyung, so…”

The man in green hiccoughed and pretended to have been struck by an arrow. He tumbled over and lied there splayed on the floor.

“Jungkook-ah,” the man in re—Junho laughed. “Don’t do this to Taecyeon-hyung. He’s been dying to see you.”

“I’ve been busy,” it was now Jungkook’s turn to whine. Taehyung snagged one round tteok and shoved it into his mouth, watching the unfolding spectacle.

“Doing what?” Taecyeon sat up and rammed his hands into his sides, huffing. “Getting innocent boys in trouble?” he pointed at Taehyung who almost choked at “innocent.”

“It’s not my fault Wooyoung-hyung is flinchy,” Jungkook folded his arms across his chest, his upper lip rolling upwards. “And I’ve been taking a good care of Taehyung-hyung… right?” he suddenly turned to Taehyung with those big eyes full of galaxies, and Taehyung felt like a mouse in a trap with nowhere to go.

“Uh,” he swallowed the tteok. “Yeah?” he turned to look at the older men. “He’s been really attentive,” he offered. “And I got to ride a cheollima here, so that was pretty nice, too.”

“A cheollima?!” Junho gasped, his eyes turning incredibly round. “How did you even convince a cheollima to give you a lift?” he stared at Jungkook.

“They felt indebted because he saved a colt from a horde of dokkaebi,” Taehyung smacked his lips and looked for other deserts to try. The foreign man in khrui kindly levitated more plates towards him. “Thank you,” Taehyung nodded at him.

“A horde of dokkaebi?” Taecyeon stared at Jungkook.

“There were like… two,” the youngest wizard shrugged.

“Five,” Taehyung corrected. “Wild dokkaebi.”

Jungkook turned sharply to Taehyung, his eyebrows furrowed and expression indescribable. Like he couldn’t believe that Taehyung was spilling everything to these hyungs, or that he could remember everything to the tiniest detail. Taehyung held Jungkook’s eye contact for a moment, raising one thick eyebrow in an obvious challenge. After all, what could Jungkook do about it?

“Ooh, five in a sanctuary is a challenge,” Junho pointed out, rubbing his chin. “How did you contain them?”

“Just the usual charms,” Jungkook shrugged playing down his role. “Chansung-hyung sealed them eventually.”

“He also used a rabbit,” Taehyung pipped, and everyone turned sharply to look at him. “He conjured a silver rabbit.”

Jungkook looked like he wanted to seal his mouth. Taehyung wondered whether he could do it with magic. He probably could.

The foreign man suddenly looked interested in the conversation. Taecyeon and Junho gazed at Jungkook, almost marvelling at what Taehyung had just said.

“Now, this is getting interesting,” Taecyeon said rubbing his chin and playing with his imaginary beard. “Didn’t know you could conjure the spirit guardian.”

Jungkook grew slightly red in the face.

“Of course, I can,” he huffed indignantly. “I’m training to be a guardian officer; the spirit guardian charm is a basic requirement for that.”

“But you’ve never gone through formal schooling in the classic character spells,” Junho rubbed his face. He had big hands. “What incantation did you use?”

“He didn’t use any,” Taehyung supplied and quickly stuffed his mouth full of rice, gauging Jungkook’s reaction, but the young wizard didn’t seem to care anymore.

“You conjured the guardian non-verbally?” Taecyeon gasped, covering his mouth. He had smaller hands.

“Sometimes mental concentration is enough for charms, you know,” Junho said thoughtfully. “You may not even need an incantation.”

“But incantation comes with meaning,” Taecyeon argued. “And the deeper the meaning, the stronger is the charm. A bare local word will never be as multi-layered as a classic character.”

“Explain then, how this kid fought off five goblins without a single charm in classic characters,” Junho motioned at Jungkook. “I’m all for classic character charms, but the truth is that other incantations work, too.”

“It doesn’t mean they are as effective as the charms based on the classi—”

“ _Khoom krong_ ,” a soft but firm voice pierced through their discussion, and Taehyung was momentarily blinded by a splash of bright silver light in front of him.

When he finally opened his eyes, there was a strange silver animal trudging playfully around the table. It was the size of a young cow, it’s skin slightly wrinkly and almost hairless, legs thick like tree trunks, and a tail thin like that of a mouse with some flimsy hairs at the end. It had big expressive eyes and even bigger ears, flapping around its bald head, and its nose… Taehyung has never seen a nose like that before: long like a snake attached to the animal’s face, and more chaotic and curious than a one-year-old child.

The silver animal crooned softly at the foreign man, and then it continued parading around the table, its nose touching and checking whatever there was on the table-top, whether it be metal utensils or unfamiliar side dishes. It would squeal quietly in delight if it found something of interest, which eventually turned out to be Taehyung’s hair.

He sat there frozen on the floor, a strange shiny (clearly) baby animal ruffling his hair and thumping its flat feet in delight, as its strong and muscly snake of a nose skimmed through the dark strands.

“What… what is this?” Taehyung whispered; his eyes wide in astonishment.

“It’s my spirit guardian,” the man in khrui said. “It’s called an elephant, and they’re abundant where I come from,” he smiled. “Don’t worry, it’s playful but kind, it won’t harm you.”

Taehyung gulped and raised his hand experimentally, only to feel the silver nose leave his hair and wrap around his wrist in curiosity. The animal almost warbled in awe. An almost identical sound escaped Jungkook’s mouth, too. He looked genuinely fascinated.

The foreign man turned to look at Taecyeon and Junho, eyeing them carefully, a silent challenge present in his warm brown eyes. Taecyeon was the first to weigh down his head.

“Yeah, Khun, I get your point,” he sighed.

Khun leaned his elbow against the table-top, resting his cheek upon his hand.

“Our clothes have different names, but they’re still clothes,” he said. Despite the unfamiliar tone, his words had a clear flow. “Because of where I come from, I had no other choice but to learn Chinese and the classic charms that come with it,” he spoke softly and sounded friendly, but there was something in his tone that commanded full attention. “I like classic charms because of their…” his brows furrowed lightly, looking for the right word. “Brevity. But a charm in my own language will always be more sincere,” his focus was now solely on Taecyeon and Junho. “You both know that any incantation works for a spell, as long as its intent is pure. Language is just a wrapper.”

Junho gazed at Khun with something close to adoration on his face, whereas Taecyeon coughed awkwardly and shoved a tteok into his mouth. He munched on it sulking like a five-year-old.

The baby elephant was now playing with Jungkook’s hairpin, trying to pull it out of his ponytail. Jungkook giggled and wrenched the binyeo out, gripping it firmly in his hand.

“You want a friend, don’t you?” he cooed at the silver animal. Junho cocked his eyebrow when Jungkook closed his eyes, and then flicked the hairpin with a clear incantation on his lips. “ _Dikhil baram_.”

Light burst out of the hairpin, and the next moment, an energetic silver rabbit was prancing around a delighted baby elephant.

“So that’s the local spell for it,” Junho mused.

Jungkook looked appalled.

“What, you’ve never heard this one before? What’s yours?”

“ _Boho guham_ ,” Taecyeon offered. Jungkook swallowed down a snort.

“Sounds like an appeal to a magistrate,” he muttered.

“Well, it’s either that or a song of a shaman,” Taecyeon pouted.

“Hey,” Junho’s foot poked Taecyeon’s thigh. “Wooyoung’s working hard to pass as one, don’t sell the occupation short.”

“All these words call for the same thing,” Taehyung said thoughtfully, and the wizards hushed, focusing on him.

Feeling a little bit uneasy about the attention and slightly out of his mind because he dared to interrupt the conversation, Taehyung gripped the glass closest to him. His fingers played with the smooth round edge, trying to ease his nerves. There were so many images in his mind, but he wasn’t sure how to put it into coherent words and phrases. When the wizards didn’t say anything, he continued:

“I think… if you can call these… spirits? Whatever these are… with different words. Then you must think of the same thing, even if you have different words for it. So, it’s the thought that counts? When I think about something, I know… I know it’s true, but if I say it out loud, my truth rings louder, I guess. So, when you say those words out loud, maybe you grow to believe it more yourself,” he looked at Jungkook. “You said those things need precision and concentration, and because it’s channelling and not summoning… I suppose you need to be like an empty road for your… magic to pass through. It kinda sounds like cultivation to me? Where, you know, you have to get rid of unnecessary thoughts if you want the energy to circulate… and you know how some people just concentrate and that’s it, they’re an empty vessel. But others use mantras to achieve that? So yeah, that’s that… I guess,” Taehyung shrugged and shrunk upon himself, unsure why these people allowed him to ramble for so long.

The rabbit thumped its foot onto the wood floor and hopped into his lap, the baby elephant bumping gently into his shoulder and playing with his hair again.

“Well, had this kid here been born with at least a tiny spark of magic in him, he would’ve been a brook dragon by now,” Junho leaned back and nodded, folding his arms across his chest.

Taehyung didn’t know what he meant by that, but he assumed it was a compliment. He bowed embarrassed and turned to Jungkook for a rescue, but he caught the younger wizard ogling at him with his mouth slightly agape, his front teeth a definite scene-stealer. Jungkook looked like he couldn’t believe Taehyung had said that, and that was rather close to tickling Taehyung the wrong way.

“What?” he jutted his lower jaw out. “I might be clueless about you lot, but I’m not daft.”

Jungkook opened his mouth to counter that, but his retort was cut short when the guard from down the stairs appeared at the entrance to the upper floor, bowing to the bickering lords. The magical animal guardians evaporated with a burst of silver smoke.

“Pardon the interruption, my lords,” the guard stood straight after bowing and her eyes travelled to the left of the table. “Jungkook-nari,” she gave a small bow again. “Scholar Kim will see you now.”

Jungkook blinked at her, as if trying to process what her words meant. Then he shook himself out of the odd stupor and jumped to his feet.

“Splendid,” he nodded at the guard and turned to the older wizards. “Hyung-nim,” he folded himself into a deep bow. Taehyung scrambled to his feet and followed Jungkook’s lead.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Jungkook breathed.

“Thank you for the meal,” Taehyung seconded.

“We’ll be on our way and then we’ll see ourselves off,” Jungkook bowed again.

“Tell Namjoon to leave his plants be and have a meal at the main house once in a while,” Junho nodded and waved at them both. “We barely see the kid.”

“It’s almost like he likes plants more than people,” Taecyeon muttered. “I could use a Namjoon-level mental stimulation sometimes.”

“Is that supposed to be a jab at my intelligence?” Junho’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re the one who said it, not me,” Taecyeon pointedly looked away.

“I know way too many ways to jinx people for you to try me like this,” Junho’s voice dropped lower. “In classical characters that you love so much, too.”

Ignoring his bickering friends, Khun got up from the table and went over to the younger men, pulling something out of his long sleeves. He stood in front of Taehyung, offering him a transparent bag that was full of long pieces of dried orange fruit.

“I was delighted to meet you,” he said pushing the bag into Taehyung’s hand. “Don’t feel too discouraged by all these people. We’re not that bad,” he smiled. “This is something for your journey,” he nodded at the fruit.

The bickering behind them stopped with Taecyeon trying to put out a local fire in his robes.

“Hey, isn’t that my mango?” Junho wondered, his eyebrows high as he looked at the bag in Taehyung’s hands.

Khun ignored him point-blank and smiled warmly at Taehyung, giving his hands a warm squeeze.

“I hope this is not the last time I see you.”

“Khun-hyung!”

“Let’s go,” Jungkook egged Taehyung on, pulling at his coat to leave before these hyungs managed to drag them into another bicker session.

Taehyung bowed quickly at the hyung in khrui and hurried after Jungkook out of the pavilion, back into the night.

🕸️🕸️🕸️

Their footfall was barely audible against polished stone trails. They had walked deeper into the private gardens of the House of Jade, and the glaring fire torches were left behind. The path between small ponds and delicate trees was dimly illuminated by several hovering orbs. The orbs would flick into existence when they approached and then dim down behind their backs, giving them no more than a few feet of visibility, the rest of the gardens basking in moonlight.

It was quiet, with not a single guard around, almost like this part of the gardens was a sanctuary. Taehyung stopped when he saw Jungkook halt abruptly in front of him. He looked around to see that the path has disappeared, and it took his confused mind a while to realize that they have reached a big and deep pond at the edge of the gardens.

The pond was wide, probably wide enough for a royal palace, and there was an island at the far end of the pond full of lush trees. Taehyung could make out a silhouette of a house in the island, too. There was a lone light flickering in one of the windows.

Jungkook pulled out his binyeo and raised it above his head, a series of small yellow lights shooting from its end. It was fascinating how bright the lights were and how they didn’t make any sound. He looked up to see the lights go. He gazed at them shooting up into the sky until there came a distinct sound of water splashing against something. Taehyung looked down and let his eyes adjust to darkness again.

A wide boat slowly floated towards them across the surface of the pond. There was no one manning it, but it was clearly heading towards the bank. It soon bumped into the granite embankment, carefully rotating in place and mooring its longer edge against the elevated path.

Jungkook hopped into the boat light on his feet, and the boat sway wildly, but he didn’t even blink when he turned around and offered his hand for Taehyung to hold. His hesitation lost sometime in between the dokkaebi and silver elephants, Taehyung gripped Jungkook’s hand and slipped into the boat. It pushed away from the bank almost immediately, turning around and taking them towards the island.

Taehyung sat on a small bench in the boat, hugging his knees and staring at the stars. Jungkook stood straight in front of him, watching the island gradually drawing closer.

“I forgot why I was here,” Taehyung’s low timbre wafted across the pond. Jungkook turned around to look at him and Taehyung continued. “Back there in the pavilion, for a little while, I’ve really forgotten why I’m doing this.”

Jungkook let out a friendly huff.

“Exactly,” he nodded. “That’s why those hyungs are dangerous,” he crossed his arms over his chest and turned to look at the island again. “They’re friendly and engaging, and you’re having fun, but it’s suddenly morning, and you catch yourself thinking wait, why was I here again?”

Taehyung chuckled to himself.

“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

Jungkook sputtered softly.

“Oh yah, there’s a reason Seokjin-hyung didn’t want to come. With him, we wouldn’t have left until morning,” Taehyung hummed amused and Jungkook continued. “What you said back there,” he glanced back over his shoulder. “About spells, thoughts, and concentration, that was insightful,” he gave a curt nod. “I meant no disrespect with my reaction, I just didn’t expect you to give it such a deep thought.”

“Don’t mention it,” Taehyung smiled and leaned back with his elbows on the bench, gazing at the night sky. “What’s a brook dragon though? They said I could’ve been one.”

“Oh… it’s a…”

“Great man with humble beginnings?” Taehyung offered when Jungkook seemed to be looking for the right words.

“Same principle,” Jungkook nodded. “Just… in our circles, it’s used to describe a great wizard who comes from a non-magic family.”

Taehyung’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead.

“It’s possible?” he asked his voice laced with amazement.

“Yes, there are quite a few wizards with non-magical backgrounds. You know I’m mixed, too. And Seokjin-hyung is a textbook case of a brook dragon,” Jungkook focused on something far at the other end of the pond with a fond look on his face. “I’ve lived with magic all my life, and he only got introduced to it in his teens, but he’s way better at charms than me…” Jungkook hushed abruptly and peeked at Taehyung. “Don’t tell him I said that.”

“But how can this be possible if it’s not in your blood?”

“It just means there’s a _heoma_ somewhere down in your family tree,” Jungkook shrugged.

“A what?” Taehyung frowned.

“Uh… it means… empty of magic. A non-magic person born to magical parents.”

“I guess it goes both ways, then,” Taehyung hummed thoughtfully, mulling over every single conversation he had and heard tonight.

The house in the island was now clearly visible. It was surrounded by greenhouses with their slanted roofs and chimneys. The entire perimeter of the island was covered in lush trees that looked like they were guarding the place from outsiders.

Taehyung found it odd how they had to see this person separately if they’ve just met the owner of the entire estate.

“We couldn’t get the ingredient from these people at the pavilion?” he wondered out loud. Jungkook spared him a glance again.

“Taecyeon-hyung is like… a patron. He provides space and resources to talented wizards to further their research in exchange to their knowledge and services, but he hardly interferes. Namjoon-hyung is the one you turn to for rare plants.”

“Is… that plant very rare?” Taehyung suddenly thought of the other aspect of his quest.

“It’s imported, so yes.”

“Is it… expensive?” he winced and Jungkook focused fully on him again. “I already gave all of my money to Wooyoung-hyung…” he quickly read the quizzical look on Jungkook’s face. “And something tells me my coins wouldn’t work in your circles.”

Jungkook blinked and then broke into an amused cackle.

“Don’t worry,” his shoulders quivered with laughter. “If anything, it’s on Yoongi-hyung, and he owes Wooyoung-hyung a favour, so you’re all covered.”

Taehyung wasn’t sure he wanted to know what kind of favour that was. He stared thoughtfully at the rippling water, listening to the boat sway softly. Wooyoung did say he should go with the flow, and Taehyung told himself to swallow down all questions and doubts. The night would be over in one way or the other. He just had to live through it, and he would be home. Heck, he might even wake up under his own blanket, all twisted after this lucid dream.

The boat bumped gently into the shore, and Taehyung snapped out of it. He quickly got to his feet and followed Jungkook out of the boat onto the land. It was oddly quiet in the island, almost like birds and insects were forbidden from entering it, but it had a peculiar warm aura that made Taehyung feel at ease.

A shadow moved in the windows as they approached the main house, and sure enough, the front door opened almost at once.

“Jungkook-ah!” out came a tall man in a long dark green hanbok, so washed out that it looked almost grey. The light coming from inside fell on his round face and soft features, dimples in his cheeks as he smiled wide. There were a blue norigae and a long triangle homi hand plough dangling tied to his waist. Taehyung was beginning to think that all wizards had a thing for norigae.

The man waved as he quickly walked down the steps, and Jungkook grinned hurrying to greet him.

“Hyung!” Jungkook folded himself into a big bow, and Taehyung could swear if he had a tail, it would’ve been wagging hard.

“How d’you do?” Taehyung followed suit and bowed to what he assumed was Namjoon-hyung.

Namjoon eyed him with genuine curiosity and nodded in greeting. He walked over to Jungkook and gripped at his arms, pulling the young man to stand straight again.

“Sorry for barging in so late,” Jungkook breathed.

“No problem, no problem,” Namjoon waved his worries away. “Sorry you had to wait. Some saplings were reluctant to be replanted, and then I had dirt everywhere, so it took a while to get decent,” he raised his right hand apologetically. Taehyung realized it was scrubbed to the point the skin was almost red.

“Hyung should’ve used charms,” Jungkook gasped.

“I did!” Namjoon laughed, his big slanted eyes shrinking into crescents. “But charms don’t work on everything.”

Taehyung eyed the man as the two chattered lightly. He did indeed look like a scholar, albeit slightly distracted and all over the place. His wrist cuffs were tied tight almost all the way up to his elbows. Taehyung figured it was practical because he worked with plants. He also wore a gat with colourful beads, and there was another gat dangling at his back, and Taehyung wondered if he changed his hats based on the time of the day.

“<…> I see, I see,” Namjoon nodded when Taehyung tuned into the conversation again. “And Yoongi-hyung needs something for that potion, right?”

“Yes, a stewed mandrake root.”

“Ooo,” Namjoon reeled backwards at the request. “Hyung’s going all-out, isn’t he?”

“It’s worth the shot,” Jungkook shrugged, peeking at Taehyung. “It’s really our fault for interrupting Wooyoung-hyung like that,” he mumbled apologetically, and Taehyung realized that Jungkook actually felt bad about what happened.

“You didn’t know,” Namjoon patted him on the shoulder. “You couldn’t have known. And you’re trying to fix it, so it’s all that matters,” he gave an encouraging smile, dimples digging deeper into his cheeks. “And I happen to have an entire stock of mandrake root,” he beamed. “Hang on,” he scanned them both. “I’ll be right back.”

Namjoon turned on his heel and hurried back into his house, jumping over the front steps fast if not a little clumsy. His big toe caught on the threshold corner, and he stumbled into the house with a loud stomp, trying to maintain his balance. Jungkook and Taehyung both lurched forward out of pure instinct, but Namjoon had already disappeared behind the main door.

Taehyung and Jungkook both glanced at each other simultaneously.

“He’s a bit all over the place, isn’t he?” Taehyung asked carefully.

Jungkook sighed closing his eyes and gave a few tiny nods.

“He’s got a lot on his mind,” he offered.

Taehyung chuckled softly and looked down at his feet. He got the feeling he was extremely lucky that everyone was so willing to help him. Even if it was partly because Wooyoung was trying to save his face. But even so, no one even batted an eye at all the requests they made this late in the night. He also realized all these people must’ve been very close friends and colleagues.

He reflected deep in thought, while wiggling his toes inside the boots Jungkook had procured for him. His eyes wandered idly across the ground, counting the fallen leaves. There was enough light for Taehyung to see that most of the leaves were either red or rich gold. Autumn was in its full swing, and Taehyung was thankful once again for the warm coat that he had. He wondered how strong the wind must’ve been throughout the day to tear off even bright green leaves.

Taehyung blinked.

Oh?

His brows furrowed as he noticed a bright green sapling amidst gold and red. He crouched down and carefully took a stack of leaves on a narrow stem into his hand. It didn’t feel dead.

Taehyung stood straight and brought his hand closer to his eyes. That was a very odd sapling.

“What you got there?” Jungkook asked curiously, walking closer.

Taehyung raised his head and reached out, offering Jungkook a closer look.

“I don’t know, but it kinda looks like a bamboo sa—PLING?!!” Taehyung gasped, his eyes turning wide as saucers when the sapling began moving in his open palm. Before he knew it, the thin leaves morphed into thin green limbs, and there was a head with two big protruding eyes and two long extra thin antennae.

“It’s a bamboo bug!” Jungkook cackled amused.

“Bamboogle!” they heard Namjoon exclaim from the doorstep, and the bug in Taehyung’s palm turned around excited, chirping something by rubbing its mandibles.

The scholar hurried down his steps again, holding a jar pressed tight to his chest.

“I’ve been looking all over for him,” he beamed hurrying over, his eyes wide open and his mouth pulled into a big grin as he regarded the big green bug in Taehyung’s palm. “I thought I’d need a new shepherd for my saplings. It’s so good you found him, thank you, Taehyung,” Namjoon looked at him with so much gratitude, Taehyung felt himself blush.

“You’re… welcome. It was just… lying… around… here…” Taehyung stuttered flustered as Namjoon offered his hand and the bug hopped onto it, quickly scooting up his shoulder.

“I wish he weren’t too small for a bell,” Namjoon sighed. The bug chirped. Seemingly in objection.

“Here’s the root,” Namjoon offered the jar to Jungkook. The younger wizard pulled out a small black bag and easily pushed the jar into it, like it wasn’t twice the bag’s size. Taehyung wondered if those bags could stretch enough to contain a person, too.

“Thank you,” Jungkook nodded.

“Don’t mention it, I’m interested in the end result, too. Come back later to tell me about it, okay?”

“Sure,” Jungkook grinned. “Oh, and Junho-hyung says you should have a meal with them once in a while.”

“Ah…” Namjoon’s shoulders sagged. “I know they want to see me, and I like them hyungs, but… My greenhouses will run out of self-watering spells if I go to the main house often...” he weighed down his head.

Taehyung couldn’t help but giggle. He totally got what Namjoon was talking about, and it felt refreshing to be on the same wavelength with them for once.

“Anyway, I hope you get your hair back, Taehyung,” there was nothing but genuine best wishes on Namjoon’s face.

“Thank you,” Taehyung bowed.

“Thank you, hyung,” Jungkook bowed again. “We’ll be on our way now.”

“Be safe!” Namjoon gave a small wave, the bamboo bug chirping on his shoulder.

Jungkook and Taehyung turned to shuffle towards the boat again, the fallen leaves and gravel cracking under the boots. Taehyung wanted ask why they had to take the boat again if they could just fly away on the fan, but right when he was about to step his foot back into the boat, there came a shout from behind.

“Wait! Jungkook!”

“Ah?” Jungkook turned around with his mouth open.

Namjoon was scuttering after them, his long robes flapping with every step. He was trying to untie the second gat that was dangling behind his back.

“I almost forgot,” he gasped when he skidded to a halt on the gravel, small stones rattling down into the pond. He hurriedly untied the gat laces and offered the black hat to Jungkook. “Here.”

“Huh?” Jungkook accepted the gat confused. It was a nice gat. Sturdy and sharp, with black beads on its string that glittered in the moonlight.

“I put it on to give it to you, but I almost forgot,” Namjoon wheezed trying to catch his breath. “Happy birthday.”

Jungkook frowned. “My birthday was… two months ago?”

“Yes, but I didn’t get to see you then,” Namjoon nodded and pointed at the hat. “And I know you don’t usually wear them, but you can use it when you get assigned to official missions.”

Jungkook blinked and focused on the gat, holding it almost reverently. “Oh,” he mumbled.

“The bigger beads are incrusted with dragon heartstring, so you can use them for channelling, too,” Namjoon explained. “I just thought it would be neat,” his smile suddenly turned sheepish, his idle hand rubbing at the back of his neck.

“Oh…” Jungkook stared at the beads dangling loose below the gat. Taehyung could swear he was close to vibrating. Like he was about to combust or something.

He then resolutely placed the gat behind his sword against his back, tying its laces around his neck. He left the hat to hang loose behind his back and gave one last bow to Namjoon.

“Thank you for your kindness, hyung-nim.”

Namjoon smiled again and nodded. He waited until Jungkook and Taehyung settled into the boat, and he charmed it take them across the pond himself. He stood there waving on the shore until the distance blurred him into one dark grey glob along with the island.

Taehyung sighed when he saw the door to Namjoon’s house close.

“Now what?” he breathed mostly to himself, leaning against the edge of the boat, staring aimlessly at the dark water.

Jungkook still heard him from where he stood close to the bow.

“Now it’s the Park Estate,” he winked.

(Or valiantly attempted to.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	5. Act 5: Boys Meets Memory

🕸️🕸️🕸️

Apparently, they couldn’t just hop onto the fan and leave from the middle of the garden because the entire House of Jade was under a barrier. The barrier stopped anyone from using magic if they wanted to enter or leave the estate. They could only do that once they were outside the main gate.

Or so Jungkook had said when they were already on their way southwards. With it being Taehyung’s fourth flight for the night, he sat relatively relaxed, hands hidden in the long coat sleeves. The sleeves were still pleasantly warm from the charm Jungkook had placed some time earlier. As his body was no longer in a continuous state of shock, Taehyung had found he could focus on other things, too. So, he’d asked what it was about the Park Estate, that a “ _mudungie”_ like him could find overwhelming.

Seemingly relieved that Taehyung was no longer questioning flying, Jungkook had nodded and taken the gifted gat off his shoulders (too much air resistance in flight). After having tied it to the left side of his waist, he’d launched into a brief explanation about the Park Family and the Park Estate. What Taehyung found out was that the Park Family was an old pureblood family (he’d stored the term for later) that had made its fortune through trade rather than taxes, land ownership, or sheer inheritance.

Their establishments were open for all wizards and all types of magical creatures, which made them popular in the peninsula. Sure enough, due to their unorthodox business practices and their association with everyone and a goblin’s mother, more traditional pureblood families looked down upon them. But the same business practices had made them powerful and influential, so one could dislike them, but it was impossible to ignore them.

The Park Estate, Jungkook had then said, belonged to the eldest son of the Park Family, Park Jimin. Sure, it was his residence, but it was also a mind-boggling inn for wizards and other sentient magical beings. The Park Estate offered lodging for travellers, food, entertainment, means of magical communication, and even meeting spaces for various officials. The establishment was the IT place to be if you wanted to catch the latest rumours of the Joseon wizarding world.

Its sheer size, the ruckus, and the abundance of wizards and magical beings was the main reason it could be overwhelming, Jungkook had explained. Although he’d said he hoped that it being later in the night and Taehyung having already encountered dokkaebi and the hyungs from the House of Jade, there shouldn’t be much of a shock. Taehyung had briefly wondered why dokkaebi and the Jade hyungs were grouped under the same category, but he decided to process that information later, too.

Now soaring right above the treetops over a big and flat plateau, Taehyung realized that he must’ve seen more of Joseon in one night than in his entire life. He briefly wished he could see the same things under bright sunlight, but he figured that people would not take a flying fan lightly. He blinked when he caught himself chuckling quietly. When did he reach the state where we could laugh about this entire situation?

He looked right to see Jungkook pull the binyeo out of his hair that was in a messy bun again. He raised the hairpin up high and bright blue sparks shot up from it like very expensive fireworks. The lights soared across the plateau way ahead of them. For a second there, Taehyung thought they were lighting up the way, but then he saw a similar set of bright yellow lights shoot into the sky from the southern end of the plateau.

The fan vibrated under their bums and shot forward even faster. Taehyung watched with fascination as seemingly an empty space in the south began changing, almost like a golden veil falling off the area. One after another, great hip roofs with wide gables came into view, some of them decorated with blue and red flags flapping in the night wind. The area was vast, each house and pavilion followed by a garden, which in turn, was followed by additional quarters and storage houses.

The estate was surrounded by a very low stone fence, but Taehyung was sure it had other defences in store. As they approached looking for a place to land, Taehyung noticed that the yards were set in polished stone, with multiple steps to all different houses and banquet halls. He was sure it had already been the second half of the rat hour, but the main courtyard was still bustling with people, entertainers playing their big drums and absolutely stunning dancers spinning in flowing purple robes, not missing a single beat.

Everything was illuminated in a warm light, and even the goblin decorations atop the wide roofs didn’t look as intimidating. Taehyung secretly hoped the goblin and the carp decorations couldn’t move, but you couldn’t be sure with these people.

The closer they got; the more Taehyung was sure that all the people in the courtyard wasn’t exactly… well… people. There was a bunch of animals scurrying around, too. Some small glittering creatures were zipping back and forth fluttering their tiny transparent wings. There were drums that kept on booming without a drummer, and some low tables with snacks and drinks were crawling across the courtyard by themselves.

The fan aimed for an empty path on the left side of the courtyard. It ran along a row of cosy-looking one-story houses with white walls and rice-paper windows. It looked like the sleeping quarters at least for some of the guests.

A wizard popped out of nowhere right in front of their fan and it almost buffered to avoid crashing into the man who leisurely landed onto the path, riding his sword. Their fan seemed to vibrate in disapproval.

“Heh, your friend,” Taehyung elbowed Jungkook in the ribs, which earned him a stink eye.

They waited until the path was clear, and then the fan gracefully wafted downwards and skidded to halt around a foot above the ground.

Taking a deep breath, Taehyung slid off the fan and landed on his feet, nimbly standing straight and following Jungkook across the courtyard. The fan shrank to its original size and zipped after Jungkook, right into his waiting hand without any additional spell.

No one paid any attention to them, everyone in the courtyard too preoccupied with the performance or food, or their conversations. Some people were very animated, waving all sorts of tools around and projecting lights and shooting around charms. Their clothes and hair were so diverse, Taehyung saw glitters before his eyes.

There were also a few very stoic pale people, who just stared at their glasses with deep black bags under their eyes. Their glasses were full of something that looked disturbingly close to blood, but Taehyung decided to not think about it for now.

They passed by a huge building with slanted roof and magnificent gables, and hurried towards the right wing that was dotted with small red-wood houses, each of which had at least two chimneys. One of the houses had all the lights on, a few calico cats mincing on its tiled roof around the small flapping banners. Both of its chimneys were huffing and puffing without pause.

“It’ll be here,” Jungkook beckoned him and hastened his pace. “Come on.”

Taehyung broke into a light trot, but then found himself dodging to the left when a white-blue thing jumped from behind them and attached himself to Jungkook’s back.

“Jungkookie!” the thing hollered excited when Jungkook didn’t even flinch under the weight.

“Nice to see you too, hyung,” Jungkook huffed amused, his hands automatically snaking under the other person’s knees as he turned around to face Taehyung. “You can say your greetings,” he told him casting a glance at the face behind his shoulder. “This leech here is Park Jimin.”

Taehyung blinked and eyed the man piggy-backing on Jungkook, or whatever could be seen of him.

“Hi!” the man beamed, his eyes shrinking into crescents. “You must be Taehyung!” he waved. “Welcome to Park Estate.”

Taehyung gave a slight nod because something told him this clingy thing was close to his age. “How d’you do?”

“Fantastic!” the man exclaimed wiggling slightly, and Jungkook dropped him without any warning. “Oof!” Park Jimin landed on his butt, raising a small cloud of dust in his wake.

Dark boots peeked from under his long blue hanbok. The overcoat was embroidered with multiple golden peonies, and the end of its white sleeves had their own embroidery pattern with delicate cherry blossoms. There was a golden crest of a three-legged bird embroidered on his stomach, and the coat was tied with a narrow belt in the middle. A fancy calligraphy brush and a blue norigae (of course) were attached to the belt.

Jungkook offered a hand and pulled Jimin up to his feet when he gripped it. Taehyung then realized that Jimin had no head accessories except for a blue headband with the same three-legged bird emblem. His hair was thick and barely reached his shoulders. A neatly trimmed fringe fell on his forehead, and there was a small plait behind, clasping most of the hair from the top of his head. The rest was just left to fall down unceremoniously, and Taehyung wondered whether he had also had a shaman mishap.

Although wizards probably didn’t need to visit shamans… and was Wooyoung even a shaman in the first place. Taehyung shook his head.

“You made it!” the door to the smoke puffing house opened wide and out stepped Kim Seokjin in his lilac robes and glossy hair. He looked content. “Right on time,” he walked down the steps and soon stood in front of the three young men. “My baby, please,” he offered his hand palm up.

Jungkook quickly placed the fan into Seokjin’s hand, and it vibrated in delight.

“Oh?” he gripped the fan and raised it to his eye level, frowning slightly. “Why does it imply you didn’t let it work?” his eyes darted to Jungkook.

“Oh, a cheollima gave us a ride to the House of Jade, so it was a bit upset,” Jungkook scratched at the back of his head. “It loved working with us,” he grinned.

Seokjin narrowed his eyes, giving the fan a dirty look. “Traitor,” he muttered softly and tied it to his sash.

He then eyed Taehyung’s clothes giving Jungkook’s efforts an affirmative nod until his eyes stopped at the gat dangling on Jungkook’s hip. Seokjin blinked.

“Oing? What’s up with the hat?” he pointed his chin at it.

Jungkook quickly cast his eyes down fidgeting with his sash, and when he stalled to answer, Taehyung took over.

“Scholar Namjoon gave it to him. Said it was a late birthday gift,” he said in one breath.

Seokjin almost choked while Jungkook sputtered. Jimin’s thick lips spread into a wide smile over a row of white teeth as he grinned.

“Namjoon?” Seokjin gasped. “Wow…” he eyed Jungkook up and down. “How are you still alive?”

“He did look like he was about to combust though,” Taehyung mused as Jungkook turned brighter than a ripe persimmon.

Seokjin burst into a series of squeaky giggles, followed by a loud cackling from Jimin.

“The kid came back a seasoned veteran, I see,” Seokjin swooped onto Taehyung and slung an arm over his shoulders, giving him a slight shake. “Come on,” he beamed at the blinking Taehyung. “Let’s get you inside and see Yoongi do his magic,” he pulled Taehyung towards the house, Jimin closely following along.

“Bring in the missing ingredients, Jungkook-sshi!” Seokjin sing-sang over his shoulder before disappearing inside the house.

Taehyung found himself in a surprisingly spacious room with red and burgundy walls. The floor was really warm what with two furnaces burning outside. Two narrow gutters slithered from the two furnaces at the farthest wall where they met in the middle of the floor and then continued to the centre of the room. The gutters were glittering with a seemingly tamed river of fire. The stream started out nearly red at the furnaces, but when they reached the middle of the room, the flames burned almost green. There was a copper cauldron bubbling right above those greenish flames, the metal gleaming in bright reddish brown.

Yoongi was stirring the cauldron, two unfamiliar men at his sides. Both men were taller than him and flamboyant in their own right. The man on Yoongi’s left wore an indigo and red hanbok, with black boots and a samo on his head. The round black hat with its wings was nothing too outstanding, but it was clear that he was an official. What with the colourful crest on his chest and a sword at his waist, he would’ve looked almost intimidating if it weren’t for the way he chattered with Yoongi. He had a loud voice full of southern inflections, and Yoongi seemed to be struggling to keep the man away from his cauldron.

“<…> but Yoongi-yah, if you stir the draught three times left, and then repeat it several times, the ingredients will melt into the draught faster.”

“Hyung-nim, that might alter the effect,” said the other man.

He also had a sonorous voice, but his clothes were a lot brighter, a mix of white and baby-blue, a flute tied to his white sash and a blue norigae dangling next to it. He had a slight, but firm build, a baby-blue headband on his forehead, and his forearms were wrapped in tight material all the way up to his wrists, to protect them from rough handling. He had no crest on his chest, but his headband also sported the golden three-legged bird.

“Oh, hello,” the man noticed Taehyung and the others come in and he broke into a bright smile, the apples of his cheeks rising high. “You must be Taehyung,” he waved. “Welcome.”

The other man looked away from Yoongi and his draught, too. He eyed Taehyung up and down, a curious light in his dark eyes.

“That’s Wooyoung’s kid?” he asked.

“Yes, daegam-nim,” Jungkook nodded and hurried past the others towards Yoongi, pulling out his black bag and shoving his entire arm into it.

“How many times do I have to tell you,” the man in samo rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue. “ _Hyung_ is more than enough,” he took a step back so Jungkook could hand Yoongi the missing ingredients. Yoongi tossed the porcupine quills into the concoction without any delay.

“We are deeply sorry that you have to suffer the men of our stature twice on the same night, daegam-nim,” Seokjin gave a deep bow, his hair swishing over his shoulder.

The man in samo stared dumbly. Yoongi leisurely stirred the cauldron twice.

“Okay, now I know you’re just messing with me,” the man blubbered in a rapid patter as Jungkook cackled next to him.

“That’s Minjun hyung-nim,” Taehyung almost flinched when he felt more than heard Jimin breathe into his ear. The shorter man’s chin was basically hooked upon his shoulder. “He’s a high ranking official at the Magic Council.”

Taehyung gave a slight nod to show that he at least heard that. It didn’t matter if he actually understood that. He could swear Jimin smiled at him.

“And that person with the flute is Hoseok-hyung,” Jimin continued. “Our families have a joint business, so he works with me. And he’s a very good friend.”

“Uh…” Taehyung turned fractionally to his right; afraid he might bump into Jimin’s nose if he made any sudden moves. “Thank you for telling me?”

Jimin’s face morphed into the same dazzling smile he’d seen outside.

“I just think we should all be on an equal footing here,” he gave a non-committal shrug.

“Continuous circles to the left, straight from your wrist, Yoongi-yah,” Minjun maintained his stance on the intricacies of potions, and then he focused on Taehyung again. “How are you planning to deal with him when it’s all over?” he directed the question to Seokjin.

Yoongi politely ignored Minjun’s advice, dumped dittany into the cauldron, and stirred the draught with a sharp flick to his wrist to the right. Hoseok took the mandrake root from Jungkook to wait next to Yoongi, when the younger wizard joined Seokjin again.

Taehyung blinked. Deal with… him? Seokjin cast a pensive glance at Taehyung.

“Hyung-nim, are you suggesting we obliviate him?” he asked carefully.

“It’s always on the table,” Minjun nodded. Whatever he offered seemed to be important, but he didn’t look menacing, so Taehyung gathered the courage to utter:

“Ob…liviate?”

“We can… help you forget what happened tonight,” Jimin explained kindly.

Taehyung felt something cold slither down his spine. He thought of the golden veil that dropped down right before they reached the Park Estate. Of the barriers that didn’t allow them to leave the House of Jade on the fan. Of the veil that shielded Yoongi’s bubble from the rest of the world.

“Does my…” he swallowed painfully. “Does my knowing about you make me a threat?”

The others looked at him with indescribable expressions on their faces. Hoseok’s brows furrowed in an almost regretful manner. Yoongi stopped stirring.

“No,” Minjun shook his head, his voice suddenly a lot softer. “You’re not a threat. But whatever you’ve gone through tonight might make it harder for you to go through tomorrow. Sometimes it’s better to forget things,” he sighed. “But it’s your call, in the end.”

Taehyung sucked his lower lip into his mouth, biting it nervously. The pounding headache was a clear sign that he should’ve been asleep by now, and he knew it was hard to judge things properly at the moment.

“Can I…” his voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “Can I decide after I get my hair back?”

“Of course,” Minjun nodded.

Taehyung felt Jimin’s palm rubbing comforting circles against his back. It was nice.

“How much longer, Yoongi-chi?” Seokjin asked rather impatiently when Yoongi took mandrake from Hoseok and let it slip carefully into the draught. It bubbled violently and turned light purple.

“Not much longer,” Yoongi mumbled, his eyes on the draught. Hoseok leaned in closer, too.

“ _Not much longer_ ,” Seokjin tapped his foot against the floor. “Each time I hear you say that, I swear I could win three rounds of hopping janggi, and you still wouldn’t be done.”

“Three rounds?” Jimin pulled away from Taehyung to level Seokjin with an incredulous stare. “Who would you be playing against, a child?”

“Excuse you, are you doubting my hopping janggi skills?” Seokjin gaped, pointing accusingly at Jimin. Jungkook’s eyes darted back and forth between the two men, as if watching a gripping ball game.

“I bet Yoongi-hyung would be done with the draught, and you wouldn’t be even halfway through the round if you played against me!” Jimin raised his chin in defiance, keeping his eyes on Seokjin.

“Ha!” Seokjin scoffed, his hands rammed into his sides. “I feel insulted just thinking that I’d be playing against you.”

“EXCUSE ME?!” Jimin gaped suddenly exploding. Taehyung wondered just how much fire was contained in that small body.

“Fine!” Jimin made a point to swing his arm in a wide circle until he finally pointed at Seokjin. “Place your bets, hyung-nim. What do you wager?”

“Jimin-ah, think carefully,” Seokjin smirked amused. “That’ll be a straight path to your doom.”

“I bet Yoongi-hyung's gonna be done with the draught before you even get my cannons. If you do, you can have my newest maps.”

Seokjin’s eyes glinted with glee.

“Fine,” he nodded airily. “I wager my own charmed janggi stones, then.”

They both nodded and crossed their arms smirking at each other, until they simultaneously turned to Jungkook and said:

“What do you wager?”

“Ah?” Jungkook gaped confused. He had been too busy following their exchange. He blinked slowly. “It’s a two-player game.”

“We can charm the board to house three,” Seokjin shrugged.

“What do you wager?” Jimin demanded, tapping his foot against the wood floor.

“Uh…” Jungkook eyes darted back and forth between the two men. He glanced briefly at Taehyung right next to him, and then he quickly gripped Seokjin at his elbow and pushed him in front of himself. “I wager Jin-hyung!” he declared.

“Yah! You can’t wager a person; wizarding slavery was abolished two hundred years ago!” Seokjin fumed, turning as red as the flames at the furnace.

“Yeah! You have to wager something of an ACTUAL VALUE.”

“EXCUSE YOU?!”

“I dunno,” Jungkook sputtered in his husky voice. “I don’t have any other possessions on me right now…”

“I’m not your possession, you brat!”

A soft groan pierced through their high-pitched yells and accusations.

“Someone, get them out of here,” Yoongi asked, his eyes closed as if fighting an onset of a mind-splitting headache.

Minjun sighed.

“I sometimes wish I were the youngest…” he mumbled under his nose and clapped his hands, marching towards the bickering wizards. “Alright, children!” his voice sounded sunny and upbeat, but there was a thinly veiled threat behind it. “Off you go, you can play your board game outside!”

The three-legged bird, a black tortoise, and a flying horse on Minjun’s crest glimmered with vibrant colours each time he took a step. His wide shoulders made him look even more imposing than he really was. He gripped Seokjin and Jimin at their collars and pulled them outside, Jungkook following by association.

A refreshing peace and quiet fell inside the house, and Taehyung noticed how the flames were crackling in the gutter, the draught bubbling along with soft popping. He could still hear indignant yells from outside, but now they sounded distant. Especially as Yoongi and Hoseok were talking in hushed tones over the draught.

“How long will it take though, really?” Taehyung asked carefully, noticing how his voice carried a lot deeper across the half-empty space.

Hoseok looked up from the draught and gave him a reassuring smile.

“It’s really almost done,” he said. “We’re lucky we still had some of our cauldron stock intact. They usually sell like hot cakes.”

“Yeah, the cauldron really sped up the process,” Yoongi hemmed, starring at the purple surface. “You can come over, Taehyung,” he beckoned him closer. “It won’t blow up or anything,” Yoongi peeked at him momentarily before focusing on his task again. “And the flame is harmless, too.”

Taehyung edged closer to the cauldron, trying to take a closer look at the draught. It bubbled leisurely.

“Once it turns lilac,” Yoongi explained. “We can dip a glass into it and you can have a drink.”

Taehyung nodded as Hoseok stared thoughtfully at the draught, hand on his chin, his lips pulled in a puzzled frown.

“Hmm, I thought mandrake restorative draught is usually emerald green,” he mused.

“It is,” Yoongi nodded with a nasal huff of agreement. “But it’s just a spin-off. What with dittany and Taehyung’s hair… There’s no set colour for it really,” he then focused on Hoseok pointing at the draught. “When you’re making something new, you have to remember the base. The colour might be unconventional, but the base for this draught turns bright green from dark green when it’s fully brewed. So, you apply the same logic for the spin-off,” he shrugged looking at the liquid again. “You wait for the brightest colour.”

Hoseok nodded, committing every single word to his memory.

“How do you know it’s reached the brightest point?”

“Well,” Yoongi’s face and tone remained impassive, but his cheeks flushed lightly. Or maybe that was the flames playing tricks on his pale skin, Taehyung couldn’t tell.

“When it no longer… changes?” Yoongi offered.

Hoseok snorted and then burst into a loud roar, bending in half with the power of his laugh.

“Jimin might lose the wager, hyung!” he cackled.

“He’s rich, he can get more maps,” Yoongi shrugged nonchalantly, and then he glanced apologetically at Taehyung. “Sorry,” he sounded a bit embarrassed. “I really don’t have a clear timeframe for this one…”

“Oh,” Taehyung bowed. “Please don’t apologize. You all have already done so much for me in one night. I just want my hair back, just as it was. And I can wait as long as necessary for it.”

Hoseok suddenly sobered up. He stood with his back straight, his brow knotted in a confused frown, upper teeth worrying his lower lip.

“Just as it was?” he asked cocking his head.

“Yes,” Taehyung nodded, feeling somewhat apprehensive about the sudden change in Hoseok’s demeanour. “I need it just as it was. I can’t just grow new one fast… they’d already offered that…”

“What…” Hoseok frowned. “You mean they didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what,” Taehyung felt a faint ghost of bile climb up his throat.

“Hoseok-ah…” Yoongi closed his eyes in a quiet plea. His eyebrows quirked in a frown.

“No, hyung,” Hoseok gave Yoongi a slightly judging glance. There was not a single trace of hostility in his voice, but he sounded stern. “Just because he’s a _muma_ , he can’t be kept in the dark.”

“What… what are you talking about?” Taehyung breathed.

“This twist on the mandrake draught restores what you’ve lost, that’s true,” Hoseok explained with a tinge of almost brutal honesty. “But it can only restore what you give it. So, it won’t be just as it was. It will be your old hair, yes,” Hoseok nodded. “But it will be multiple copies of those strands that were used as the ingredient for the draught.”

Taehyung felt his breath punched out of his lungs. He blanched, clenching his shaking hands into fists. This wasn’t happening. He didn’t ride a sword, and a fan, and a winged horse, and a fan again to find out that he couldn’t have it back. They promised…

“You…” his voice was strangely calm. “You promised,” he whispered.

Hoseok shook his head apologetically, looking slightly dejected, but firm in his attitude.

“We’re just wizards, Taehyung,” he said. “We’re not gods.”

Taehyung’s lips quivered and he clenched his jaw, trying to stop a wail from escaping his throat. He swallowed.

“But you…” he stared at Yoongi. “You said it was possible.”

“I’m sorry, Taehyung,” Yoongi bowed his head in apparent shame. “But that’s the best option in this situation. It will be almost—”

“I don’t need almost!” Taehyung suddenly exploded, the dam that had been brimming with unruly waters suddenly too weak to hold it. “I need it just as it was!!”

“Taehyung—”

“You don’t understand!!” he wailed in despair, walls caving in on him. “YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!!”

The two wizards looked stricken by the heart-clenching grief and pain in his voice. Eyes full of unshed tears and chest rapidly expanding with breaths he could no longer take, Taehyung turned on his heel and hurried out of the house, out through the door, and down the rough stone steps where four wizards were enthusiastically huddled around a set of (hopping) janggi, the board charmed to make it a four-way game.

“Hey, Taehyung, what—” Seokjin looked up from the board, but Taehyung paid no heed to them. His lilac overcoat flapping wildly after him, he ran down the path deeper into the estate grounds, past the reception hall, into the garden, disappearing behind a moving bridge over a pond.

“We have vampire guests tonight…” Jimin muttered as they all stared dumbfounded at where Taehyung had disappeared.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” they all heard Hoseok say and whipped their heads to see him stand on the threshold.

“Yeah, you do that,” Jimin nodded, still looking somewhat confused.

No one even blinked as Hoseok shifted into a golden eagle with thick brown plumage. He spread his wide wings and took to the sky, after a few mighty flaps easily gliding over the estate following Taehyung’s track.

“What the hell happened?” Seokjin frowned when Yoongi emerged from the house too, a troubled expression on his face, arms folded across his chest.

“Hoseok told him how the draught actually works,” Yoongi sighed.

“Oh,” Jungkook’s shoulders sagged and he peered upset at the board (Seokjin’s been winning against all three of them).

“Well, he does have a right to know, and it’s better if he does,” Minjun nodded. “But it’s almost like there’s more to it if he reacted like that…” his gaze followed where Taehyung had disappeared.

“Poor boy,” Yoongi shook his head, still feeling slightly guilty about the entire situation.

“Okay, I’ll go get him,” Jimin tapped his knees and got up to his feet, running his hands over a few creases on his overcoat.

“Jimin-ah, you don’t have to,” Seokjin said softly, his eyes following Jimin’s movements (and his pieces on the board). “We brought him here…”

“And it’s not your fault he’s been keeping things to himself,” Jimin said sternly. “You’ve already had enough on your plate tonight. I’ll do it,” he nodded, turned on his heel, and headed towards the Park Estate gardens.

“You can have my pieces, Jungkook-ah!” he exclaimed, waving with his hand up in the air without looking back.

“ _Assa_!” Jungkook whooped to the disapproving groans of the older wizards.

🕸️🕸️🕸️

Taehyung stood on a white stone bridge, looking down at the pond. It was quiet here, deep into the gardens, far from the main courtyard. The bridge wasn’t moving and it had no railings. It connected the gardens with a small island in the pond, where Taehyung had wanted to hide, but he skidded to a halt on the bridge, feeling exhausted and at the end of his wits. Heaving one breath after another, hands on his knees, he looked at his reflection in the water.

The reflection was distorted in the moonlight and the warm glow of floating magical lanterns, but he could tell that he didn’t look like himself. It wasn’t because of snot and tears streaming down his face. It was the silk on his shoulders and the unfamiliar headband on his forehead. He looked like a noble young master he knew he would never be, and his hair draped elegantly over his shoulders, swaying with every breath he took.

The short endings tickled at his jaw and chin, and Taehyung’s face crumpled again. He flopped onto the cold stone, legs dangling over the edge of the bridge, trying to catch his breath. The bags in his pockets jostled around as he leaned against the stone with his hands behind him, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath through his nose. Half of it was snot and he almost choked.

Coughing heavily, he didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. Tonight was proving to be a bit too much.

Taehyung stilled, looking at the glimmering surface of the pond. Something emerged through the fog of his memory and he shoved his hand into one of the pockets. His fingers firmly gripped a small vial, and he pulled a plugged bottle out of his sleeve pocket.

He couldn’t believe he still had it despite everything what has transpired tonight. Wooyoung’s oils. The shaman (though probably not) had said he should smell the oils if the going got tough, and Taehyung didn’t even care anymore. He quickly pulled out the plug, not even bothering to wonder whether these oils could be dangerous or poisoned, or what have you; he just wanted a distraction.

Putting the open bottle to his nose and closing his eyes, Taehyung took a deep breath.

Tendrils of something warm and remotely sweet slowly wafted up to his nose and then step by step enveloped his brain. The tense line of his shoulders relaxed as his upper body slumped, and Taehyung groaned softly, breathing in again.

The scent was mild and hardly overpowering, but surprisingly grounding. He couldn’t tell whether there was any magic there, but it felt like someone opened the door to a stuffy room and let some fresh autumn air in. It was both refreshing and warm with its sweet and woodsy undertones, and Taehyung understood what Wooyoung had meant saying the scents made him feel good.

Something swooped across the pond and Taehyung flinched, quickly plugging the bottle and hiding it in his sleeve again. He stared dumbfounded as a huge eagle glided across the pond, circling around the island, and eventually choosing a big tree to land. The tree was rather close to the white bridge, and the bird perched on a thick branch, folding its massive wings and focusing its attention on Taehyung. It looked calm and composed. Taehyung blinked and hiccoughed.

He tried to remember any tales about magical eagles, but he couldn’t come up with anything this late at night. However, it didn’t look like the bird was just… a bird. Feeling oddly perturbed, Taehyung gave the bird one last fleeting glance and focused on the pond again. The bird just rested there on the branch, seemingly carefully watching the surroundings, almost as if it was guarding Taehyung.

Shaking his head at the ridiculous assumption, Taehyung sighed and pulled out another bag from his other sleeve. He’d almost forgotten about this, too. The dried fruit from the foreign wizard. His stomach growled and Taehyung decided that was the obvious sign he had to eat the fruit.

Just as he was about to untie the bag, he heard even and quiet footsteps, accompanied with soft rustle of expensive robes. Fingers gripping the bag tight, Taehyung looked up to see the owner of the estate – Jimin, slowly saunter over the bridge towards him. He had his arms behind his back, as if he were out for a stroll, his eyes focused on the bird in the tree.

Taehyung saw Jimin give a slight nod to the bird and then focus on him. The bird didn’t leave, but Taehyung couldn’t care less about it now that Jimin stood right in front of him, a kind smile on his face. He didn’t look or feel intimidating, but Taehyung tensed either way, already preparing himself to answer an onslaught of questions.

However, Jimin just gave him another soft smile and casually sat down on the bridge next to him without a single word. He swayed his legs over the ledge, leaning back against the cold stone, but his presence didn’t feel awkward or imposing. There was something warm about Jimin, and Taehyung felt his shoulders relax again. He was thankful Jimin didn’t expect him to speak.

They sat there on the bridge in their comfortable silence, and Taehyung forgot to wonder when Jimin would speak. Fingers still on the soft bag of dried fruit, Taehyung blinked and got an idea.

Untying the string and opening the bag wide, he offered the dried fruit to Jimin with a rather unsure, but hopeful expression on his face. Jimin’s right eyebrow shot up as he saw the _muma_ boy turn to him with a sweet-smelling bag in his hands. Peering down at its contents, Jimin smiled and took a few pieces of a dried orange fruit.

“Thank you,” he said softly when Taehyung pulled a few pieces too and popped one into his mouth. Jimin watched him curiously as Taehyung’s expressions changed several times while chewing. Taking a bite of his own fruit, Jimin figured this was the first time Taehyung tried a dried mango.

They shared dried mangoes in silence, chewing leisurely and looking around the garden, the sentinel eagle still perched in the tree.

With half of the bag’s contents gone, Taehyung tied the string tight again and hid it in one of his lilac sleeves. He sighed, resting his elbows on his thighs, hands under his chin.

“They say the potion can only restore as much as it is given,” he rasped in a low and tired voice. “How am I supposed to get the rest of my hair…”

“And where is the rest of your hair now?” Jimin asked carefully, watching Taehyung’s profile.

“In Wooyoung-hyung’s cauldron,” Taehyung’s face crumpled and he fought another sob at the thought.

Jimin’s mouth popped open and his eyebrows pulled tight in a concerned frown, like he was regretting his words. But then it was hard to understand why Taehyung was so distressed about it. Jimin’s hand automatically landed on Taehyung’s back, moving in gentle and calming circles. Taehyung sniffled, but no sob escaped his throat again.

Taking care of your body was part of filial piety, that much Jimin knew about the non-magic world. After all, bits and pieces of that culture permeated right into the wizarding world, too. It was impossible to remain separated. However, being so distraught over lost hair didn’t feel right. Jimin pursed his lips, trying to fight whatever he wanted to ask, but his curiosity won in the end.

“Why do you _really_ want your hair back?” he asked softly.

Taehyung blinked rapidly at him, and then focused on his hands in his lap. His eyes were glassy, but he didn’t look like he was going to cry again.

“I…” he cleared his throat when his voice cracked. “I haven’t cut my hair since my parents passed away.”

“Oh…” Jimin felt his breath leave his lungs. His hand froze on Taehyung’s back. “I’m sorry.”

Taehyung shook his head.

“It’s been years, but… it’s the only thing I have… had left, you know?” he shrugged weakly. “I’m… I’m the youngest… so I can’t even do the rites properly, my eldest hyung takes care of everything, and I…” he took in a shaky breath. “I’m here because of them, and by keeping it… I guess it was how I kept their memory close. In my own way.”

Jimin’s hand was drawing circles on his back again.

“It just… it was important… to me,” Taehyung picked at his lilac robes. “And it all just… plopped into that purple potion,” he choked on a sad deprecated laugh.

“Wooyoung-hyung brewed a purple potion?” Jimin asked.

Taehyung gave a sad nod. Jimin hemmed thoughtfully, his hand leaving Taehyung’s back as he leaned back against the white stone and focused on the pond.

“Your memory could become a gift from your parents,” he said cryptically.

Taehyung blinked and looked left at Jimin; his brows knotted in a confused frown. Jimin locked eyes with him.

“Wooyoung-hyung doesn’t have magic,” Jimin smiled wistfully. “But he’s exceptional at potions. The purple potion is _dangi_ draught, I assume. And it requires something personal from the person it’s made for.”

Taehyung listened dumbly, not quite sure where Jimin was getting at.

“Did Wooyoung-hyung tell you how it works?”

“He said…” Taehyung frowned trying to remember. “He said it would pull people… to me.”

Jimin nodded.

“ _Dangi_ draught is like a diluted drop of personal luck. It wouldn’t draw in anything or anyone you wouldn’t like, but it’s up to you whether you keep them or not. And the stronger the personal ingredient is, the stronger the pull,” Jimin offered another soft smile. “You may have lost your hair, but their memory lives in you. And maybe your token of filial piety can bring you even a greater gift. Through Wooyoung-hyung’s potion. If you choose to keep it, that is.”

Taehyung pulled away slightly. Blinking at Jimin and digesting his words, his lips upturned in a confused frown. Jimin fidgeted nervously.

“And,” he cleared his throat. “And if you want your locks back overnight, you can still drink Yoongi-hyung’s potion,” he pressed his full lips together when he was done talking.

Taehyung folded his arms across his chest, eyes on Jimin, a perplexed expression on his face.

“How come you’re so wise?” he muttered, and Jimin turned to him with his eyes wide in surprise. “Aren’t you like… around my age?”

Jimin stared at him and then he broke into the most radiant smile Taehyung has seen in a while. His eyes disappeared into tiny crescents and he threw his head back laughing brightly, his fist lightly bumping into Taehyung’s shoulder.

“Helping others is easier than helping yourself,” Jimin cackled, swinging his legs above water.

Taehyung huffed softly and found himself smiling, too. It was hard not to smile with someone so bright around. He eyed Jimin up and down again, thinking he might as well just ask.

“What’s your story?”

“Huh?” Jimin’s eyebrows shot up as he turned to Taehyung confused.

“Your hair,” Taehyung pointed at the thick locks barely reaching his shoulders. “Why so short. Was it a curse or…?”

“It was too heavy,” Jimin deadpanned. “My family is cursed with extremely thick hair.”

Taehyung was momentarily lost for words.

“You’re joking.”

Jimin giggled.

“Like, half-joking, maybe,” his shoulders shook with his cackle. “It’s not an actual curse, of course,” he leaned in closer as if letting Taehyung in on his own personal conspiracy. “But thick hair does run in our blood. It wouldn’t be a problem if we were some high-class officials who just have to look pretty every single day. But it can get really inconvenient when you actually have to work. Everyone keeps it trimmed. My father, my mother, my brother… We’re a very active folk,” he shrugged and gave him a proud lopsided smirk.

Taehyung huffed an incredulous laugh, shaking his head.

“Well, that had never been a problem for me,” he said looking at his reflection in the pond. As good as he looked in that reflection, it didn’t really feel like him. He sighed. “I’ll have to take Yoongi-hyung’s potion in the end, I think.”

“You’re still gonna drink it?” Jimin asked kindly.

“Yeah, I… I went to see Wooyoung-hyung because I wanted to make my grandmother happy. This,” he pointed at his shoulder-length hair. “Won’t make her happy.”

Jimin snickered and leaned further back, focusing at something on the island.

“I think we can tell them to proceed!” he called in a slightly raised voice and Taehyung turned around so fast his neck almost cracked.

Just as he thought, Jimin was talking to the eagle. The bird hopped off the branch, but before it could land gracefully on the ground, Taehyung watched in fascination and horror how the talons and wings morphed into boots and sleeves. Human feet landed on the ground instead, white and baby-blue robes rustling slightly with every movement made.

“I’ll go tell them,” Hoseok stepped onto the bridge, briskly walking over to them. “If they’re still lost in their game and don’t pester him, who knows… Yoongi-hyung might’ve been done by now really,” he grinned.

Jimin snickered. Taehyung gaped at Hoseok with his head thrown backwards, blinking as the wizard stood right next to them. He’s been… there the entire… time?

“Thank you, hyung,” Jimin beamed at Hoseok. Hoseok nodded at him, mirroring Jimin’s smile and then looked at Taehyung.

Taehyung still gapped like a fish out of water, but he suddenly scrambled to his feet, feeling slightly wobbly and unsteady after sitting for such a long time. Hoseok hurried to catch him lest he fell, but Taehyung just rummaged through his sleeves in haste, eventually pulling out the mango bag. He opened it as fast as his quivering fingers allowed and offered the fruit to Hoseok, watching him expectantly with his eyes wide open and his mouth still agape.

Hoseok blinked, his mouth upturned in a startled frown, but then he cackled, the confused expression making way for a bright laugh.

“Why thank you!” his voice laden with amusement, Hoseok reached for the bag and snatched a handful of dried fruit. Popping one into his mouth and hiding the rest inside his pockets, he ruffled Taehyung’s hair once he was done. “You’re a brave kid,” Hoseok nodded and turned to leave with the final glance at Jimin. “See you two at the main courtyard.”

“We’ll be there soon,” Jimin waved at Hoseok’s receding back, who just raised his hand in acknowledgment.

Taehyung watched Hoseok go until his white robes disappeared behind thick trees in the garden. His fingers absent-mindedly tied the string around the bag.

“What on earth was that?” he gasped, too tired to freak out anymore.

Jimin cackled and jumped to his feet, brushing the imaginary dust and soil off his robes. He followed Taehyung’s line of sight where Hoseok had disappeared.

“Hoseok-hyung’s pretty cool, isn’t he?” he beamed, hands clasped behind his back.

“Shifters are real?!” Taehyung stared at Jimin; the mango bag safely hidden in his pocket.

“Oh no,” Jimin shook his head and raised his hand, pointing at Taehyung. “Hoseok-hyung is a _dong_ —” he shook his head deciding to drop the term. “He’s an animal wizard. There’s a difference.”

Taehyung narrowed his eyes. He’s heard this line before. Jimin took his expression as a spur to continue his explanation.

“Shifters are born with it,” he frowned slightly. “And they’re usually not human. But animal wizards learn to transform into a certain animal through training. It’s pain to achieve, but really useful.”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine why,” Taehyung cocked a thick eyebrow and Jimin giggled, ushering him forward and off the bridge.

He kept his eyes low as they slowly made their way through the gardens, skirting around moving bushes and hovering lanterns.

“Come morning, that’ll be a LOT to forget,” Taehyung mumbled thoughtfully under his breath.

Jimin stopped and eyed him curiously.

“Do you _want_ to forget though?”

Taehyung looked up to see Jimin watching him with a somewhat hopeful expression on his face.

“Hm,” Taehyung smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	6. Epilogue: Boy Meets

🕸️🕸️🕸️

His back was slightly stiff, but the feeling of warmth slowly seeping into his muscles and bones through the fabric was pleasant. The air inside was mixed with sweet and grounding scents that wafted around from every single corner. He could hear muted mumbling somewhere further away, but he couldn’t make out the words.

When the feeling of hard floor under his head turned from annoying to borderline painful, Taehyung frowned and opened his eyes. He blinked owlishly several times, trying to force his eyes to focus, boogers making it challenging.

When the ceiling view finally came into focus, Taehyung was quick to realize he wasn’t home. The ceiling was relatively high and it was decorated with multiple colourful garlands, dotted with several lanterns here and there. The lanterns were not glowing, but it was relatively bright inside, so Taehyung figured it was already late morning or afternoon. He could feel an onset of a dull headache in his right temple, and his body felt almost foreign from exhaustion.

He groaned and rubbed his face, brushing the boogers out of his eyes and absent-mindedly running a hand through his hair. His fingers got stuck in tightly secured locks, pulling almost painfully at his skin. Taehyung frowned at the feeling.

Pulling his fingers out of his hair and carefully following the hairline with his fingertips, he eventually gripped a thick braid that rested thrown across his left shoulder on his chest. Taehyung stilled.

With his eyes still set on the ceiling, his slightly quivering fingers followed the braid all the way down until they found a small band tied around it.

Taehyung breathed in a steading breath and gripped the end of the braid, bringing it to his eye level. The ends of the braid were black, thick, and slightly split in places. It looked like it wasn’t cut for a long time.

With a tired exhale, Taehyung dropped the braid and put his wrist to his forehead, not even sure what to feel. His heart was relieved and hollow at the same time. Deciding that getting up was probably the first thing he could do; he rubbed his eyes with the balls of his hands, quietly mumbling to himself:

“It was all a dream.”

Then he heard an amused chuckle.

“If you say so,” a smooth voice answered him.

Taehyung frowned and pulled his hands away from his face, now trying to blink away the spots in his vision. He turned his head right from where he was lying on the floor.

One of the tables for the offerings in the shaman’s cabin was turned into a boardgame set, the shaman and the man in lilac leaning over the janggi board with thoughtful expressions on their faces. Taehyung’s eyes widened.

The sha— Wooyoung was clearly waiting for Seokjin to make his move, tapping his fingers impatiently as he sat cross-legged on the floor. Seokjin scanned the board once more and then leisurely placed his piece on Wooyoung’s side.

“Hyung-nim,” he said pleasantly with a soft smile on his face. “I call _janggun_.”

Wooyoung’s piece hopped off the board and bounced over to Seokjin’s side.

“Eit!” the older man threw his arms up in frustration.

Taehyung blinked. Wait.

He breathed in to speak, but the air was suddenly punched out of his lungs.

Literally.

“Oof,” he gasped flinching and focused on the heavy weight right in the middle of his chest. Trying to see what it was, he slightly raised his head from the floor.

Taehyung closed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things. He shook his head and opened his eyes again.

But nothing changed. There was a big black rabbit like a heavy rock on his chest, crouching and watching him. Its ears were alert and erect, nose twitching like it could smell Taehyung’s confusion and bewilderment. Its hind legs thumped against his sternum and it sauntered closer to Taehyung’s face, watching him intently with its big dark eyes full of stars.

Taehyung’s brows knotted in a confused frown. Wait.

The little nose twitched again, with the hind legs giving another thump.

Taehyung’s brows crawled up high, his mouth gaping open.

The rabbit smirked at him.

🕸️🕸️🕸️

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much @[skidadling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skidadling/pseuds/skidadling) for the gift, and [@doodlinonpluto](https://twitter.com/doodlinonpluto) for capturing the mood of these silly Joseon Wizards so well in your art 😭😭
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	7. Glossary

**-=GLOSSARY=-**

**b**

beureum beureum (브름 브름) – a Korean version of the summoning charm.

binyeo (비녀) – a traditional Korean hairpin.

boho guham (보호 구함 [保護 求―]) – a Sino-Korean version of the defensive spirit guardian charm.

brook dragon – a term that refers to a talented muggle-born wizard. Based on the Korean proverb “개천에서 용 난다” – a dragon rises from a small stream.

**c**

cheollima (천리마) – a mythical winged horse, part of East Asian mythology.

**d**

daegam (대감) – a title used to address someone of a very high social status, usually a minister.

dangi draught (당기 마법약) – a magic potion that inadvertently pulls potential friends, partners, or spouses to the one who drinks it.

dikhil baram (딕흴 바람) – a native Korean version of the defensive spirit guardian charm.

dokkaebi (도깨비) – a legendary Korean goblin.

dokkaebi gamtu (도깨비 감투) – a dokkaebi hat, which grants the wearer the ability of invisibility.

dot (ᄃᆞᆺ) – a warming charm.

durumagi (두루마기) – a traditional Korean overcoat.

**g**

galgi potion (갈기 마법약) – a Korean version of the manegro potion.

gamasot (가마솥) – a heavy Korean cauldron.

gat (갓) – a type of Korean traditional hat usually worn by men.

gumiho (구미호) – a legendary nine-tailed fox, part of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean folklore.

**h**

heoma (허마 [虛魔]) – a person “empty of magic.” A squib.

homi (호미) – a Korean hand plow.

**i**

irioneora (이리오너라) – a call announcing there’s a guest at the gate. A Joseon equivalent of a door-bell.

**j**

janggi (장기) – a Korean strategy board game. Often called Korean chess.

janggun (장군) – literally means “general.” A way to declare check in janggi, when one attempts to capture their opponent’s general.

jeogori (저고리) – a traditional Korean jacket.

**k**

khoom krong (คุ้มครอง) – a Thai version of the defensive spirit guardian charm. (thank you @[skidadling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skidadling/pseuds/skidadling) ❤)

khrui (ครุย) – a traditional Thai gown or robe.

**m**

mudungie (무둥이) – a term of endearment for muggles. Some find it condescending.

muma (무마 [無魔]) – a person with “no magic.” A muggle.

**n**

nareusha (나르샤) – a flying charm.

nari (나리) – a way to address a person of a higher social class or status.

norigae (노리개) – a traditional Korean knotting tassel accessory.

**s**

samo (사모) – a traditional Korean hat made of silk and worn by government officials in the Goryeo and Joseon periods.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Most of the magical terms were made up by me, mixing Sino-Korean and Middle Korean with the modern-day language, so the glossary is all over the place. OTL.

If you have come this far to the end of this entry, thank you so much for reading! ❤

This is the first chaptered story that I’ve actually completed in the last 11 (???!!!) years, and I hold it very dear to my heart.

Thank you @[skidadling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skidadling/pseuds/skidadling) again, for having kicked by butt and for having been so enthusiastic about this small story.

Be safe and healthy, everyone 🙏.


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